Ed Skrein Exits 'Hellboy' Reboot

Deadpool actor Ed Skrein has exited the Lionsgate and Millennium Films reboot of the Hellboy franchise, Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, following a backlash against what critics have described as “whitewashing”.

Skrein was set to take the role of Major Ben Daimio, a character who has historically been portrayed on screen and on the page as being of Asian heritage. He posted the following announcement via his Instagram account:

A post shared by Ed Skrein (@edskrein) on Aug 28, 2017 at 12:03pm PDT

Mike Mignola, the creator of the Hellboy comics, responded with the following tweet:

thank you @edskrein very nicely done… https://t.co/hwCsaf9iZj
— Mike Mignola (@artofmmignola) August 28, 2017

Lead star David Harbour also responded positively to the news:

Hey internet. Thank you for your voices.
An injustice was done and will be corrected.
Many thanks to @edskrein for doing what is right. https://t.co/tUvP6YibgG
— David Harbour (@DavidKHarbour) August 28, 2017