20th Century Fox's X-Men movies got a lot wrong, but among the studio's biggest sins was how Iceman was portrayed. The comic books hadn't established him as an Omega-level mutant at the time, but all the mutant was really good for was romancing Rogue and cooling the odd beer.
While X-Men: The Last Stand was far from a masterpiece, it at least gave Shawn Ashmore's Bobby Drake the chance to show what he could do. That involved finally going full "Iceman," though it was sadly short-lived.
When Marvel Studios announced the first wave of additions to the Avengers: Doomsday cast, several X-Men franchise actors were listed among them.
As a reminder, those were Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), and Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum (Gambit). We expect more names to be added in the coming months, especially as several X-Men remain conspicuous by their absence.
Ashmore is among them, and in a recent interview with Nerd Reactor, he confirmed that Marvel Studios hasn't been in touch about a possible return.
"So this is the weird part of it," the actor started. "It’s like, if I was, I couldn’t say that I was, but I’m not. There’s been no contact. I’m not cast in it. I mean, I’ve been getting that since the last Deadpool movie."
"Everyone’s like, ‘Are you in it?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ And they’re like, ‘Okay [winks].’ But no, no, I’m actually not," Ashmore continued. "And again, I’m always open to coming back and playing that character. But yeah, so far, no, no contact."
Marvel Studios plans to reboot the X-Men after Avengers: Secret Wars and may have good reason for leaving some characters on the shelf. The team above is far from complete - Storm and Jean Grey are the biggest omissions - so we'll see how things shake out.
As for Iceman, he's a character with huge potential on screen, particularly if the full extent of his powers is showcased. Whether a future movie would explore his sexuality isn't clear, especially as his being gay was a recent change that's proven divisive among fans.
Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie recently revealed the X-Men he's eager to share the screen with. "Look, I am a big Cyclops fan. That's my favorite X-Men," he said. "I have a Cyclops action figure on my key chain that I've had since high school."
"[I'm excited] to hang out with Xavier and Beast and all those guys. But my favorite is Nightcrawler," Mackie added. "If I can hang out with one character? Me and Nightcrawler in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras for two weeks, that's what I do."
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on May 1 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on May 7, 2027.