Cindy Ord/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesTen years ago, the thought of the X-Men entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe was the stuff of dreams. But with the advent of the multiverse — and Disney’s merger with Fox in 2019 — that suddenly became feasible. Now, ahead of Avengers: Doomsday in just over a month, we’re starting to get casting announcements for a new generation of X-Men, and they seem to be skewing younger: Christopher Abbott will play Charles Xavier, Inde Navarette will play Rogue, and Kit Connor will play Cyclops. Now, we can add a new name to this list of gifted youngsters, and it’s Ben Wang, the star of Karate Kid: Legends and The Long Walk. He’ll play one of the most underrated X-Men characters, one that’s evolved in multiple ways over the years. Shawn Ashmore in X2 as Iceman with Anna Paquin as Rogue. | Moviestore/ShutterstockAccording to Deadline, Wang is in talks for the role of Bobby Drake, aka Iceman, in the upcoming X-Men movie, a role played by Shawn Ashmore in the Fox films. Bobby Drake is a mutant with the ability to generate and manipulate ice, something he first used on schoolyard bullies during his childhood. When he gets recruited by Charles Xavier, he develops a bubbly, humorous personality, something that was repressed by his conservative father. He’s a founding member of the X-Men and was only the second mutant brought on, after Cyclops. Wang is on a tear right now. After The Long Walk and Karate Kid: Legends, he appeared in David Wain’s latest movie and will be in theaters again in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, where he plays Haymitch Abernathy’s fellow District 12 tribute, Wyatt Callow. He’s also set to appear in the upcoming finale season of Apple TV’s For All Mankind as Kwan. Iceman has been canonically gay in the comics since 2015. Could this be reflected in the movie universe? | Marvel ComicsBobby Drake has also been on an interesting journey. Though his comic book character has been around since 1963, he’s been constantly evolving. In 2015, he became the focus of a new storyline where his past self was brought into the present, and Jean Grey confronted him about his sexuality. This was a shock to Bobby, who had previously only dated women, but after meeting his future self, he realized he was actually gay. The Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t have a stellar reputation with LGBTQ main characters: there was Phastos from Eternals, Billy in Agatha All Along, and Loki, but that’s about it. Perhaps if this storyline is adapted in a future movie, that could help with the franchise’s image. But even if it doesn’t, we’ll know that this Iceman is one for the new era, even if that’s just a new universe. The Marvel X-Men movie will premiere in theaters on May 5, 2028.