After previous reports that Ed Skrein would be playing Major Ben Daimio in the upcoming Hellboy film, the actor has announced on social media that he is stepping down due to the whitewashing of the character.
In his tweet, Skrein says he did not know the character was Asian when he accepted the role, and that it is important to represent the character in a “culturally accurate way.”
— Ed Skrein (@edskrein) August 28, 2017
He got all the support
In addition to praise and support from fans for the decision, the creative team behind Hellboy also had nothing but kind words to say about Skrein. David Harbour (Stranger Things), who will be playing the titular Hellboy, said on Twitter that “an injustice was done and will be corrected.” Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, also took to Twitter to say “very nicely done.”
thank you @edskrein very nicely done… https://t.co/hwCsaf9iZj
— Mike Mignola (@artofmmignola) August 28, 2017
Skrein is a leader
This is definitely a step in the right direction for the film, especially in the wake of the controversy surrounding The Ghost in the Shell and Doctor Strange and Death Note, and it looks like creators plan to be more sensitive in the future. The producers behind the film, Lionsgate and Millennium Pictures, released a statement on the subject.
“Ed came to us and felt very strongly about this,” say producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin. “We fully support his unselfish decision. It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material.”
There is still no word on when Hellboy will be released or which actor will be replacing Skrein in the role. The cast also featured Ian McShane (American Gods) and Mila Jovovich (Resident Evil).
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