Skrein was cast to play B.P.R.D. regular Ben Daimio, who is depicted as a Japanese-American former Marine in the comics. After Skrein announced the casting on Twitter last week, he was met with immediate complaints of whitewashing.
Skrein returned to Twitter to announce that he was stepping down from the role, stating that “Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family. It is our responsibility to make moral decisions in difficult times and to give voice to inclusivity. It is my hope that one day these discussions will become less necessary and that we can help make equal representation in the Arts a reality.”
Deadline carried a response from Hellboy producers Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin, who said “We fully support [Skrien’s] unselfish decision. 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.”
Hellboy creator Mike Mignola also took to Twitter to thank Skrein, telling him that his recusal was “very nicely done.”
The reboot, which is currently entitled Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, was announced last spring, with Neil Marshall (The Descent) attached to direct and David Harbour (Stranger Things) on board for the lead role (see “Hollywood 'Hellboy' Reboot”).