--- title: Daniel Dae Kim May Replace Ed Skrein in 'Hellboy' description: EW confirmed that Daniel Dae Kim is in negotiations to replace Ed Skrein after he departed in response to complaints of whitewashing. canonical: https://time.com/4937221/daniel-dae-kim-ed-skrein-hellboy-replacement/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-12T14:54:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:22:52.236Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Daniel Dae Kim May Replace Ed Skrein in 'Hellboy' og:description: Skrein left the project after complaints of whitewashing og:url: https://time.com/4937221/daniel-dae-kim-ed-skrein-hellboy-replacement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbee19c5fa082ecaf/6988dd59656a3f351cbd1a45/daniel-dae-kim-hellboy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Entertainment Weekly & People New York Upfronts og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Daniel Dae Kim May Replace Ed Skrein in 'Hellboy' twitter:description: Skrein left the project after complaints of whitewashing twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbee19c5fa082ecaf/6988dd59656a3f351cbd1a45/daniel-dae-kim-hellboy.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Daniel Dae Kim May Replace Ed Skrein in _Hellboy_ Reboot After Whitewashing Controversy by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Sep 12, 2017 2:54 PM UTC  Actor Daniel Dae Kim of Hawaii Five-O attends Entertainment Weekly & People New York Upfronts at 849 6th Ave on May 15, 2017 in New York City. Actor Daniel Dae Kim of Hawaii Five-O attends Entertainment Weekly & People New York Upfronts at 849 6th Ave on May 15, 2017 in New York City.Gilbert Carrasquillo—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly Sep 12, 2017 2:54 PM UTC EW has confirmed that Daniel Dae Kim is in negotiations to play the military man in Lionsgate and Millennium’s big-screen reboot, replacing Ed Skrein after he departed the project in response to complaints of whitewashing an Asian-American character. In the _Hellboy_ comic books, Daimio is a Japanese-American officer at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who has the ability to transform into a jaguar. Kim is best known for his work on television, with credits including _Lost_ and _Hawaii Five-0_. He is Korean-American. Skrein, who is white, became attached to the role of Daimio last month but [vacated due to a backlash](http://ew.com/movies/2017/08/28/ed-skrein-leaves-hellboy-whitewashing/). In a statement [shared on social media](https://twitter.com/edskrein/status/902244967296491520), he said he had to “do what I feel is right” and noted that he had been unaware of the character’s origins. “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 added. “It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity.” Skrein’s decision [drew praise](http://ew.com/movies/2017/08/31/ed-skrein-hellboy-impact-casting-directors/) from colleagues and fans. Kim has also made recent headlines for taking a principled stand: Earlier this summer he and Grace Park [left _Hawaii Five-0_](http://ew.com/tv/2017/07/05/hawaii-five-0-daniel-dae-kim-exits-note/) after unsuccessfully seeking equal pay with stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan. Addressing his exit in a Facebook post, he wrote, “The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am.” If a deal is reached on _Hellboy_, Kim will join a cast that includes David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, and Ian McShane. Neil Marshall is directing. The _Hollywood Reporter_ [first reported](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/daniel-dae-kim-talks-replace-ed-skrein-hellboy-reboot-1037038) the news. _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/movies/2017/09/11/daniel-dae-kim-hellboy-whitewashing-controversy/) _originally appeared on_ [_EW.com_](http://ew.com/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4937221/daniel-dae-kim-ed-skrein-hellboy-replacement/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4937221/daniel-dae-kim-ed-skrein-hellboy-replacement/"},"headline":"Daniel Dae Kim May Replace Ed Skrein in Hellboy Reboot After Whitewashing Controversy","datePublished":"2017-09-12T14:54:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:22:52.236Z","description":"Skrein left the project after complaints of whitewashing","url":"https://time.com/4937221/daniel-dae-kim-ed-skrein-hellboy-replacement/","keywords":["movies","celebrities","Race"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbee19c5fa082ecaf/6988dd59656a3f351cbd1a45/daniel-dae-kim-hellboy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Oliver Gettell / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbee19c5fa082ecaf/6988dd59656a3f351cbd1a45/daniel-dae-kim-hellboy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Entertainment Weekly & People New York Upfronts","caption":"Entertainment Weekly & People New York Upfronts","creditText":"Gilbert Carrasquillo—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4937221/daniel-dae-kim-ed-skrein-hellboy-replacement/","name":"Daniel Dae Kim May Replace Ed Skrein in Hellboy Reboot After Whitewashing Controversy"}}]}] ```