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Ed Skrein Joins HELLBOY Reboot playing a Japanese American for some reason

There's little point in writing yet another lenghty screed about the continued erasure of Asian characters from their own narratives in Hollywood, so here are the facts. You know the drill. Make what you will of them:

Ed Skrein, who played Ajax in Deadpool and Frank Martin in The Transporter Refueled, has joined Neil Marshall's Hellboy. According to THR, he'll play B.P.R.D. member Major Benjamin Daimio, who's at the very least part Japanese in the comics.

He can also turn into a jaguar when angry or in pain, which is pretty cool.

Skrein joins David Harbour as Hellboy, Ian McShane as Professor Broom, Milla Jovovich as The Blood Queen and Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan. He also joins the likes of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One, Emma Stone as Alison Ng, Scarlett Johannson as Motoko Kusanagi and Zach McGowan as real-life Hawaiian hero Benehakaka Kanahele on that other list.

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2017/08/21/deadpools-ed-skrein-joins-hellboy-reboot/amp
 

A-V-B

Member
dean_stunnedblinking.gif~c200
 

Korigama

Member
I already had my doubts about this project (wasn't at all in support of another Hellboy without del Toro, let alone a reboot), and being yet another Hollywood film to pull this sort of thing isn't helping its case.
 

Arkeband

Banned
Is his last name supposed to be some bastardized version of the word Daimyo?

Sounds like the source material's been poorly appropriating some culture too.
 
Neil Marshall, Milla, and Ian McShane put in a good effort, but yeah definitely passing on this one. Mignola likely approved this too which is upsetting
 

besada

Banned
Daimio's grandmother is Japanese in the comics. They didn't specify other heritage, but he's obviously Asian-American in the comics. So dumb missing such an easy catch.

And frankly, having seen Skrein's performances, even if he looked the part I wouldn't be excited.
 

Litan

Member
This shit is infuriating.
After the heat movies like GitS got, you're going to go ahead and do something like this anyway?
Talk about not giving a damn.
 

Wereroku

Member
Man why do they keep doing this. Dude can't even act the only reason he was good in dead pool is because he was playing an emotionless dickbag.
 

besada

Banned
It's extra frustrating because B.P.R.D. has been one of the most diverse casts in comics. It's led by a woman, it has members of multiple races, orientations, religions, ethnicity, etc. in part because it's a UN driven group. It even has dead members.
 

Fury451

Banned
I feel bad for him because he didn't cast himself.

Boneheaded move on the studios part, The BPRD is vast and diverse enough that they didn't have to go this route.
 

Owari

Member
This movie was gonna guaranteed suck the minute it wasn't Hellboy 3. Vote with your wallets instead of just bitching about it.
 

Einchy

semen stains the mountaintops
To be fair, they did cast a black woman to play Hellboy's love interest, who was white in the comics, so it's not like they're white washing all the characters. This guy is def an odd choice, though, since he always plays kinda the douche character, at least from what I've seen, and that's not really Daimio.
 

Fury451

Banned
Yeah but still would have to have auditioned and accept the role.

Eh, I see where you're coming from and I get that, but to me that's more of an issue on the casting director to begin with. A paycheck is a paycheck for an actor sometimes.


It's weird though, I could see him playing a different role easily, and they could've cast an Asian American actor for the part quite readily.
 
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