The role came about after the previously cast actor, Ed Skrein, stepped down from the spot, and publicly apologized, after discovering that the character he was going to play was Asian in the original comic book.
Daniel Dae Kim, formerly of Lost and Hawaii Five-O, was recently announced as the man who will take over the role of Major Ben Daimio in the new Hellboy movie.
Kim is glad the change was made, and he specifically thanks Skrein, not only for stepping aside, but for doing so gracefully.
While not everybody is happy with the fact that the Hellboy franchise is being rebooted, even fewer were happier with one of the casting decisions made.