Former Hawaii Five-0 star Daniel Dae Kim is in negotiations to step into the role left vacant by actor Ed Skrein after an outcry over whitewashing a Asian-American character in a Hellboy reboot.
He will play Major Ben Daimio, a rugged military member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense who, due to a supernatural encounter, can turn into a jaguar when angered or in pain.
The character is Japanese-American in the Hellboy comics by creator Mike Mignola.
Skrein had nabbed the role in August but, after a social media protest, he made the move to step down later that month.
“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 voice in the Arts. I feel it is important to honour and respect that,” he said in a statement.
Kim is Korean-American, and the actor is no stranger to standing up for his beliefs.
In June, he quit Hawaii Five-0 after a salary dispute with CBS network, as he had been seeking equal pay to the show’s stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan.
David Harbour is starring in Hellboy, which reboots the franchise centered on the demonic hero from the Mignola comic books. Game of Thrones director Neil Marshall is helming the project.