Late last month, the Hellboy reboot was hit with a wave of controversy when it was announced that Deadpool's Ed Skrein had been cast to play Major Ben Daimio, who is Japanese-American in the comics. Following whitewashing outcries, Skrein dropped out of the upcoming Dark Horse Comics adaptation so Daimio could be "cast appropriately." Days later, Hawaii 5-0's Daniel Dae Kim was hired to to take over the Daimio role, and with this casting snafu out of the way, Kim and Skrein were finally able to meet face to face recently, as you can see in the picture below.
Ed Skrein stepping down from Hellboy may have cost him an acting gig, but judging by this picture that Daniel Dae Kim posted on his Instagram page, he gained a friend. Kim noted in his post that while he doesn't necessarily believe that everything happens for a reason, he was glad that this casting controversy resulted in him crossing paths with Skrein. It looks likes these two had a good time together at that dining establishment, so here's hoping they have an opportunity to co-star in a project somewhere down the line. (Side note, the #SkreinRhymesWithWine was most helpful for those who've been wondering how to pronounce that last name.)
Daniel Dae Kim's addition to Hellboy comes months after he announced that he was departing Hawaii 5-0 after seven seasons as a series regular due to a salary dispute with CBS. Casting Kim in Hellboy was certainly the right decision in terms of having a more ethnically appropriate actor play the role, especially with whitewashing in entertainment having become significantly more controversial in recent years. Beyond that, Hellboy will sure be a big boost for Kim's movie career after years of establishing himself as a talented TV actor. As for Ed Skrein, he can be seen next year in Alita: Battle Angel as Zapan, one of the movie's antagonists.
Hellboy will follow the eponymous protagonist and his allies attempting to prevent a medieval sorceress from destroying humanity. In addition to Daniel Dae Kim, the main cast includes David Harbour as Hellboy, Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Milla Jovovich as Nimue the Blood queen, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan and Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida. Like his comic book counterpart, Kim's Ben Daimio will be a member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.) who, after a supernatural encounter where he died and came back to life, is able to transform into a humanoid jaguar creature during periods of extreme stress. The Descent's Neil Marshall is directing the new Hellboy movie, and the screenplay was written by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
Hellboy doesn't have a release date assigned yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for that information. While we wait for more news about its progress, be sure to check out our 2017 and 2018 movie premiere guides so you can schedule your trips to the theater accordingly.
