The Long Walk's Garrett Wareing is openly campaigning to play Iceman in the X-Men reboot, a part Marvel hasn't even started casting
Eyeing the MCU’s X-Men reboot, a rising The Long Walk star has thrown their hat in the ring for one of Marvel’s most underrated mutants.
Every time Marvel so much as whispers about the X-Men reboot, the usual fan debates start up—who should play whom, who should stay missing, and which original mutants absolutely have to come back. This week, the conversation has circled round to Iceman, aka Bobby Drake. If you were wondering whether Marvel's even dropped a hint about casting him, they haven't. But that hasn't stopped at least one actor from openly throwing his name into the hat—most actors keep this stuff mysterious, but not him.
Who wants the ice?
On the red carpet at the Spirit Awards, Garrett Wareing was asked about his dream superhero role. Only one name came up for him—he’s got his heart very set on taking a swing at Bobby Drake in the MCU. Here’s what he told Collider as cameras rolled:
"I wanna play Bobby, Iceman, so badly. That’s what I’m hoping for,"
So, no cryptic Instagram posts or 'maybe one day' waffle—Wareing’s very much shooting his shot out in the open. At the moment, it’s simply wishful thinking; there’s nothing to suggest Marvel’s seriously considering him. But public enthusiasm sometimes puts actors on the map—never hurts, does it?
If his name sounds familiar, it’s probably from The Long Walk—the recent Stephen King adaptation by Francis Lawrence, where Wareing plays Stebbins. He’s also had parts in things like Ransom Canyon, Manifest, Boychoir, Independence Day: Resurgence, and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. Not exactly blockbuster Marvel pedigree yet, but everyone starts somewhere.
How much Iceman have we had already?
Bobby Drake isn’t just any background mutant—he’s one of Marvel’s original X-Men, and his abilities mean he can create, shape, and generally show off with anything ice-related. Weapons, slides, frozen floors, you name it, he’s done it. In live action, though, we’ve only really had one Iceman: Shawn Ashmore.
Shawn Ashmore played Iceman across four different X-Men films, starting back in 2000 and last seen in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Here’s the full breakdown:
- First appeared as a student at Xavier’s in X-Men (2000)
- Returned for X2: X-Men United (2003)
- Came back again for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
- Final outing was X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), fighting Sentinels in that timeline-mashing finale
Ashmore’s take went from background cameo to crucial member as the films went along—by the time of Days of Future Past, he was right in the thick of things. If Marvel does bring Iceman back for the big reboot, it'll be the first new live-action version we've seen since Ashmore’s run closed out more than a decade ago.
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