After than 20 years, the popular Japanese manga "Ghost in the Shell" movie will be seen again on the big screens. Although it is expected to be more like the 1995 anime film, film director Rupert Sanders hints that the live-action adaptation of Mamoru Oshii's anime masterpiece has its own taste of liberty amidst the controversies.
In a roundtable interview with Sanders in Tokyo, Japan, he elaborated the similarities and differences of the "Ghost in the Shell" movie from the previous film that was shown in 1995. The main protagonist Motoko Kusanagi (Scarlett Johansson) will now be known as "The Major," while the plot of the film is patterned from the various adaptations of the franchise, including TV series, movies and Masamune Shirow's original manga.
With the popularity of the Japanese manga and anime "Ghost in the Shell," Sanders will be following the legacy of the franchise, but affirmed that he did not remake the film. Rather, the director conceptualized new ideas, incorporate it with some of the old scenes from the 1995 film and put a lot of action in it.
Meanwhile, amidst the news about the manga film, Sanders cleared the controversies about "whitewashing" its main character. Instead of retaining its name Kusanagi and following its Japanese ethnicity, Johansson was chosen to play the lead character "The Major."
"Whenever you cast someone, someone is going to be critical about it," Gizmodo quoted Sanders as saying. "To me, I stand by my decision, she's the best actress of her generation. I was flattered and honored that she'd be in this film."
Sanders defended that he was given the opportunity to choose the cast members for the "Ghost in the Shell" movie, and he did not regret for selecting Johansson. He praised her for her dedication and her physical skills as seen in the action scenes.
Another thing that Sanders is proud of the film is its "fresh take on futurism." The film displays a new attack on futuristic films, where cyber crimes are at peak that even human brains can be easily hacked.
Based on its synopsis, the movie follows the story of The Major, a unique human-cyborg hybrid, who is heading the Section 9. The group is tasked to stop the extremists and the criminals, whose goal is to steal one's identity.
"Ghost in the Shell" movie also stars Michael Pitt, who plays antagonist Kuze. However, Sanders is introducing a new version of his character, Collider reported.
The film is slated to be seen in theaters on March 31, 2017. Check out the "Ghost in the Shell" first trailer: