Ed Skrein Drops Out of Hellboy to Avoid Whitewashing

[Starter Set]

Very classy Ed.

[Midvillian1322]

It's always nice when the internet bitches at some to the point they feel like they have to quit a job.

I get what your saying but this was ballsy by Ed. Instead of complaing about a lack of diversity he is doing something about it. The studio cant not cast an asian actor now.

[Za Waldo]

I get what your saying but this was ballsy by Ed. Instead of complaing about a lack of diversity he is doing something about it. The studio cant not cast an asian actor now.

Wouldn't really say it's ballsy to quit a job because people are yelling at you.

Studio can do whatever they want. And do they need to cast an Asian American actor, can it be an Asian actor from another country, can it be any Asian nationality? What if they cast some other minority?

[regg215]

First off: nothing but respect for Ed Skrein, he is not an a-list guy and giving up a role in a potential franchise takes some guts. I also like that rather than complaining about it he took action, way too many people like to just gripe about things online but never actually do anything to make a difference.

With the being said I do think that it is sad that we are at a point were people online basically complained to the point that he felt obligated to quit, from what the producers of the movie initially said he came in and did a great job in the audition and earned the role. It's not like Ed skrein is a major box office draw so he had to earn the part in the audition and it kinda sucks that he was basically guilt tripped into quitting. While I don't understand why the casting people for the movie weren't looking at actors who more closely resembled the character it still is disappointing that he earned the job and was basically guilt tripped into quitting. I have nothing but respect for him doing what he did but when you look back at last week there were a ton of people saying really bad things about this guy and it turns out he is actually seems like a really decent person.

Secondly I really don't get what the rules are for movie castings anymore, with this role everyone freaked out because ED Skrein does not look like the character, (Which as a comics fan I get, it always annoys me when the cast a character and the actor doesn't in any way resemble the character, yet alot of the same people who complained about this complained when Marvel Cast Danny rand as a guy who looked like danny rand. I agree that actors in comics movies should reflect the comic characters they are portraying but right now it kinda just seems like people pick and choose different arguments to complain about castings. To me it doesn't seem right that when it come to roles like Mordo, Johnny Storm, Heimdall, Perry White, Moneypenny Felix leiter, Valkryie, Jimmy Olson, Liz Allen, MJ, the blue and black ranger and Electro that it was ok to change the character because the actor they picked earned the role in an audition but when it comes to a role like this it was not ok, even though supposedly the actor earned the role in an audition. I understand that white washing is a concern but it seems like people only demand that a character looks like the comic character when it suits their argument and that annoys me.

[Midvillian1322]

Wouldn't really say it's ballsy to quit a job because people are yelling at you.

Studio can do whatever they want. And do they need to cast an Asian American actor, can it be an Asian actor from another country, can it be any Asian nationality? What if they cast some other minority?

I didnt even know they had casted him so i doubt enough ppl even knew to scare him into quitting. Some people complained he looked into it and saw the charatcer is suppose to be asian. And felt it was right to quite. Now with this huge scene hes made the studio cant cast another white guy without it looking 10x worse then your typical white washing

And no it doesnt matter what kinda of asian. Work for an asian acotor is work for an asian actor. As american id be biased towards and asian american but it really doesnt matter. Give it to the best actor who is appropriate for the real. I refuse to believe there are no asian actors better then Ed Skreine interested in a big franchise movie role.

Now all that said i dont even know who the charatcer he was suppose to play is or if being Asian is of any importance to the charatcer. But in a world where we get constant yelling about white washing and OscarsSoWhite etc... It nice to see an actoe really try to do the right thing(assuming hes not lying and just doing this for some good PR)

[Starchild]

Jaime Reyes being hispanic is crucial to the character. Black Lightning being African-American is crucial to the character. Simon Baz being Arab is crucial. Ben Daimo being Japanese isn't from what i was told from Hellboy fans. He's just a very minor character who happens to be Japanese. He's expendable.

[Za Waldo]

I didnt even know they had casted him so i doubt enough ppl even knew to scare him into quitting. Some people complained he looked into it and saw the charatcer is suppose to be asian. And felt it was right to quite. Now with this huge scene hes made the studio cant cast another white guy without it looking 10x worse then your typical white washing

You're right, very few people probably did give at ****. And yet a big enough **** was made of it that he or his people felt he had to drop out of the movie.

I think you mean 10x funnier. This whole thing is just kind of hilarious. I also said what happens if they cast a different minority? What if they cast a black guy, (or woman) or someone Hispanic, or Indian, or Indian?

And no it doesnt matter what kinda of asian. Work for an asian acotor is work for an asian actor. As american id be biased towards and asian american but it really doesnt matter. Give it to the best actor who is appropriate for the real. I refuse to believe there are no asian actors better then Ed Skreine interested in a big franchise movie role.

Sure it matters. It "has" to matter. If it was just about seeing Asians on film you could easily watch a film from any number of Asian countries. If it's about Asian Americans getting work than getting someone from Japan, Hong Kong, or Korea doesn't exactly help that. If it's about representation how does it help to see someone who isn't actually American there; if the idea is that some Asian kid living in America will see the movie and think they too can go into acting, how does it help when they discover the actor isn't actually American?

Now all that said i dont even know who the charatcer he was suppose to play is or if being Asian is of any importance to the charatcer. But in a world where we get constant yelling about white washing and OscarsSoWhite etc... It nice to see an actoe really try to do the right thing(assuming hes not lying and just doing this for some good PR)

Why is it nice to see when OscarsSoWhite was complete and utter bullshit? What was the last stupid yelling about whitewashing, the robot woman from Ghost in the Shell that played by an actress that actually looks like her? A character whose appearance in the Big anime movie was seemingly based on T2 Linda Hamilton.

This character we're talking about is mixed, what's he a mix of?

[fred25_ca]

Starchild , i'd recommend researching a bit more on this subject. Ben Daimio was a very important character to the BPRD comics and is a fan favorite. Him being Japanese is crucial to his character. Why some fans would tell you otherwise is beyond me. I'm guessing they never read BPRD in the first place.

[Starchild]

Starchild , i'd recommend researching a bit more on this subject. Ben Daimio was a very important character to the BPRD comics and is a fan favorite. Him being Japanese is crucial to his character. Why some fans would tell you otherwise is beyond me. I'm guessing they never read BPRD in the first place.

Alright. Then i apologize for my statement. I've been meaning to get into the Mignolaverse actually but it's not too accessible.

[Tazirai]

He gets props from me on this. I hate getting into debates on this issue with Snowflakes who dislike changing demographics in Cinema.
When a character's background includes their race, especially for underrepresented minorities, leave the character be.

White males dominate Cinema, dominate it. False equivalency with other nations is even worse. Japan is Homogenous, India is homogenous. America IS a melting pot and a darkening one.

[Sighphi]

I get what your saying but this was ballsy by Ed. Instead of complaing about a lack of diversity he is doing something about it. The studio cant not cast an asian actor now.

The studio will probably destroy the role into being a background character now.

[fred25_ca]

Alright. Then i apologize for my statement. I've been meaning to get into the Mignolaverse actually but it's not too accessible.

Glad to hear you are interested in them. The Hellboy universe can seem daunting when you don't know where to start, but it is actually very simple. Dark Horse has been putting together everything in order. You really only need to get the Hardcovers. The Hellboy Library editions and the B.P.R.D. Omnibus.

You need to start with the first 3 Hellboy Library Editions (that's where it all starts, and it is simply incredible). Here's a link to the first one:
https://www.amazon.com/Hellboy-Libra...ibrary+edition

If you are hooked (as you should be!) after reading the first 3, you have two choices. The series split into 2 branches starting here. Hellboy or B.P.R.D.
There are 4 more volumes of Hellboy library editions (the serie has ended, so volume 7 is the last one). They are all great.

But i'd recommend trying B.P.R.D. after you've read the first 3 Hellboy. The way the B.P.R.D. comics work, there are 3 HUGE arcs. The second arc just ended and the third one just started.
They will all be released in chronological order. The first arc is called Plague of frogs. There are 4 omnibus (alas, the hardcovers are discontinued, but the softcovers are available). Here is a link to the first one:
https://www.amazon.com/B-P-R-D-Plagu...p.r.d.+omnibus

The first Omnibus (of 5) of the second arc (Hell on Earth) is coming out in November.
So, in summary, Hellboy Library Editions 1-3, then B.P.R.D. Plague of frogs Omnibus 1-4, and then Hellboy Library Editions 4-7, and finally B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus 1-5 (not out yet).

These are some of the best comics ever made, so you will not regret it!

Here is a great website with details about the Library Editions and the Omnibus:
http://hellboy.wikia.com/wiki/Hellboy_Library_Editions
http://hellboy.wikia.com/wiki/Omnibus_Editions

[motherofpearl1]

First off: nothing but respect for Ed Skrein, he is not an a-list guy and giving up a role in a potential franchise takes some guts. I also like that rather than complaining about it he took action, way too many people like to just gripe about things online but never actually do anything to make a difference.

With the being said I do think that it is sad that we are at a point were people online basically complained to the point that he felt obligated to quit, from what the producers of the movie initially said he came in and did a great job in the audition and earned the role. It's not like Ed skrein is a major box office draw so he had to earn the part in the audition and it kinda sucks that he was basically guilt tripped into quitting. While I don't understand why the casting people for the movie weren't looking at actors who more closely resembled the character it still is disappointing that he earned the job and was basically guilt tripped into quitting. I have nothing but respect for him doing what he did but when you look back at last week there were a ton of people saying really bad things about this guy and it turns out he is actually seems like a really decent person.

Secondly I really don't get what the rules are for movie castings anymore, with this role everyone freaked out because ED Skrein does not look like the character, (Which as a comics fan I get, it always annoys me when the cast a character and the actor doesn't in any way resemble the character, yet alot of the same people who complained about this complained when Marvel Cast Danny rand as a guy who looked like danny rand. I agree that actors in comics movies should reflect the comic characters they are portraying but right now it kinda just seems like people pick and choose different arguments to complain about castings. To me it doesn't seem right that when it come to roles like Mordo, Johnny Storm, Heimdall, Perry White, Moneypenny Felix leiter, Valkryie, Jimmy Olson, Liz Allen, MJ, the blue and black ranger and Electro that it was ok to change the character because the actor they picked earned the role in an audition but when it comes to a role like this it was not ok, even though supposedly the actor earned the role in an audition. I understand that white washing is a concern but it seems like people only demand that a character looks like the comic character when it suits their argument and that annoys me.

It's called hypocrisy.

[Za Waldo]

Glad to hear you are interested in them. The Hellboy universe can seem daunting when you don't know where to start, but it is actually very simple. Dark Horse has been putting together everything in order. You really only need to get the Hardcovers. The Hellboy Library editions and the B.P.R.D. Omnibus.

You need to start with the first 3 Hellboy Library Editions (that's where it all starts, and it is simply incredible). Here's a link to the first one:
https://www.amazon.com/Hellboy-Libra...ibrary+edition

If you are hooked (as you should be!) after reading the first 3, you have two choices. The series split into 2 branches starting here. Hellboy or B.P.R.D.
There are 4 more volumes of Hellboy library editions (the serie has ended, so volume 7 is the last one). They are all great.

But i'd recommend trying B.P.R.D. after you've read the first 3 Hellboy. The way the B.P.R.D. comics work, there are 3 HUGE arcs. The second arc just ended and the third one just started.
They will all be released in chronological order. The first arc is called Plague of frogs. There are 4 omnibus (alas, the hardcovers are discontinued, but the softcovers are available). Here is a link to the first one:
https://www.amazon.com/B-P-R-D-Plagu...p.r.d.+omnibus

The first Omnibus (of 5) of the second arc (Hell on Earth) is coming out in November.
So, in summary, Hellboy Library Editions 1-3, then B.P.R.D. Plague of frogs Omnibus 1-4, and then Hellboy Library Editions 4-7, and finally B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth Omnibus 1-5 (not out yet).

These are some of the best comics ever made, so you will not regret it!

Here is a great website with details about the Library Editions and the Omnibus:
http://hellboy.wikia.com/wiki/Hellboy_Library_Editions
http://hellboy.wikia.com/wiki/Omnibus_Editions

This makes it seem daunting. The old Hellboy stuff was pretty standalone from what I remember of them. I'd say anyone could jump right into the BPRD comics without having ever read Hellboy too. They seem to operate somewhat along the lines of the old Marvel GI Joe comics and the first two volumes of League of Extraordinary Gentleman; you'll get a complete thing in a single issue, and then (like LoEG) you'll also get a full overall arc. Seems to be one of the best team comics in the last 17 years.

[Ales]

Not only does this clearly show the double standards that the Liberal Church is maintaining but, reading the sermon that is the article about it here on CBR, also just how much fear this small group of fanatics is capable of instilling into society. For some reason, the sites that inform us and review pop culture (Comics, Movies, TV, Books, Games) have been taken over by the most devout the SJW-faith can call upon. The discrepancy between the CBR-article by Renaldo Matadeen and the comments to that article is considerable. Ed Skrein is smart by pulling out and I'm sure it will ensure his continuied employment conforming to the SJW's demands like he did but it's scary that it's indeed true that how more things change, the more they stay the same. The names and lables change, the practices stay the same.