Daniel Dae Kim, who recently exited his role on CBS' Hawaii Five-0, is in talks to join Lionsgate and Millennium Films' reboot of Hellboy.
Kim will play Japanese-American character Major Ben Daimio, a role British actor Ed Skrein recently departed in response to accusations of "whitewashing" from the public.
Skrein announced his decision to exit the project in a statement. "It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the Arts," he wrote.
While some people have pointed out that Daniel Dae Kim is Korean and not Japanese…
Hwood is out here conflating Asian cultures again but I also don't want to begrudge DDK this Hellboy role bc he des… https://t.co/0ZIwQM4UA2
Not good enough. I love Daniel Dae Kim but he is Korean & Ben Daimio is Japanese. Asians do not all look the same!!… https://t.co/cYJWXq5AuD
@ATQ1993 @Variety @danieldaekim @edskrein It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. Once we get mor… https://t.co/4lc4stITwZ
Most people on Twitter have been rejoicing over the news.
That's more like it. Also, Daniel Dae Kim should be in everything, imo. https://t.co/3g7ggKq8UU
SEE IT'S NOT HARD https://t.co/axl3VTmQ0P
yes girl (i mean this follows "asians are interchangeable casting" but i can be satisfied about this) https://t.co/PxD1GbsqoC
Oh shit, this is fantastic casting! @CPThrio talked about wanting to see @danieldaekim in a comic movie over ago, a… https://t.co/U4OnHXLHUJ
If Daniel Dae Kim gets the Hellboy role I'm gonna be sitting here cackling at the idiots at H50 who let him go
This is a very important moment in racial equality so I will wait until later to fangirl out about how incredibly h… https://t.co/Q48kCtemFh
BuzzFeed News has reached out to Lionsgate and Kim for comment.
UPDATE
Kim has officially joined the cast of the Hellboy reboot, THR reported today. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Kim confirmed his role in the upcoming film. He also praised Skrein for urging that the role of Major Daimio "be cast appropriately" and thanked fans for their support. His full statement is below.
"I’m excited to confirm that I’ve officially joined the cast of Hellboy. We start shooting today and I’ll be playing Ben Daimio, alongside our very talented cast, headed by David Harbour, and director, Neil Marshall. Thank you for all the supportive tweets and comments, especially in light of the recent events surrounding its original casting. To that, I will only add that I applaud the producers and, in particular, Ed Skrein for championing the notion that Asian characters should be played by Asian or Asian American actors. He could not have addressed the issue more elegantly and I remain indebted to him for his strength of character."
