Does it count as "white-washing" when the original movie's director approves of the remake? The casting of Scarlett Johansson in a live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell has been racked with controversy, since her character The Major is typically Asian. But Momoru Oshii who helmed the anime anime classic had nothing but high praise for her work...
“Scarlett Johansson, playing Motoko from beginning to end, has gone above and beyond my expectations for the role,” he says. “I’m sure this will be the most gorgeous film in the series so far.”
Will that calm everybody down until they've actually seen the movie? Probably not, but maybe the newly-released trailer will because it looks amazing. Introduced by Johansson herself, the footage reveals that, visually, it's very faithful to the cybernetic world occupied by The Major, a cyborg operative in the special task force know as Section 9. Their goal is to defeat cybernetic threats and technological extremists wherever they emerge.
A few things that have me pumped: Johansson emerging from camouflage in her thermoptic suit looks crazy, and is just as impressive as when we saw the teaser a few days ago. Pilou Asbaek as The Major's loyal partner, Batou, and the legendary Beat Takeshi as Section 9 Chief Daisuke Aramaki. It also looks like director Rupert Sanders is hoping to bring a bit more than just action to the table. Honestly, this just moved up on my list of anticipated movies for next year, and I was seriously skeptical about seeing one of my favorites remade for American audiences.
Also starring Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt, Rila Fukushima, Chin Han, and Kaori Momoi, Ghost in the Shell opens March 31st 2017.
