The 'Hawaii Five-0' alum is in negotiations to play Major Ben Daimio after Ed Skrein stepped down from the role due to whitewashing complaint.
- Sep 12, 2017
AceShowbiz - "Hellboy" reboot is looking to right its wrong. Lionsgate and Millennium are in negotiations with Daniel Dae Kim to have him play Major Ben Daimio after Ed Skrein left the project due to whitewashing controversy. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.
In the comic books, Daimio is depicted as a Japanese-American officer at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who has the ability to transform into a jaguar. Skrein had been cast in the role in August, but later stepped down after backlash over the casting of a white actor for the character who is portrayed as of Asian heritage.
"Last week it was announced that I would be playing Major Ben Daimio in the upcoming HELLBOY reboot. I accepted the role unaware that the character in the original comics was of mixed Asian heritage. There has been intense conversation and understandable upset since that announcement, and I must do what I feel is right," Skrein said in a Twitter post at the time. "Therefore I have decided to step down so the role can be cast appropriately."
"Hellboy" producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin, Lionsgate and Millennium responded in a statement, "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."
Kim, a Korean-American, is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon on "Lost" and Chin Ho Kelly on "Hawaii Five-0". He and co-star Grace Park exited the CBS police procedural series in June after salary dispute as they had been seeking equal pay to co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan.
The "Hellboy" reboot, called "Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen", has David Harbour on board to play the title character. Along with his team of paranormal researchers, he will try to save the world from a medieval sorceress who wants to destroy humankind.
Other actors cast in the movie are Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan (a woman saved by the titular hero from fairies), Ian McShane as the demonic hero's adoptive father Professor Trevor Broom, Milla Jovovich as the villanious Blood Queen, and Penelope Mitchell as elder witch Ganeida.
Neil Marshall is tapped to direct the movie. No release date is set for the movie just yet.
