A week ago 34-year-old British actor, Ed Skrein, tweeted that he would be playing Major Ben Daimio, an Asian-American character in Mike Mignola’s Hellboy comics. The news was met with complaints that Hollywood was once again 'whitewashing' an Asian character.

Following this, Ed Skrein has withdrawn from the upcoming Hellboy reboot a week after his casting sparked outcries of whitewashing.

Announcing his decision on his personal Twitter account, Ed posted: 

The studio will now focus on re-casting the role of the former U.S. Marine. The film begins shooting this October and sources say Skrein’s departure won’t affect the start date. David Harbour is playing the titular character in Hellboy. Neil Marshall is directing the movie, which also stars Ian McShane and Milla Jovovich.