It has been confirmed that the lead role in the "Ghost in the Shell" will be played by Scarlett Johansson after rumors that the "Lucy" star will play the comic-book role for the hit Japanese anime's film adaptation.
Johansson's recent movie "Lucy" earned $458 million. The sci-fi, action movie was said to have been made out of a $40 million budget. Other sci-fi movies Johansson starred in include "The Avengers" and "Under the Skin."
For the film adaptation of "Ghost in the Shell," Johansson was reportedly offered $10 million. Written by Masamuni Shirow, the 1989 manga's story revolves around the life of cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi who works for the Public Security Section 9 or Japan's National Public Safety Commission.
Prior to the confirmation that Scarlett Johansson will play the lead character of "Ghost in the Shell," multi-award-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star Zhang Ziyi was also one of the actresses considered for the role.
In 2014, Ziyi won Best Actress at the 14th Chinese Film Media Awards for her performance as a kung fu master in "The Grandmaster." Held in Beijing, China, the awarding ceremony was dominated by the films "The Grandmaster," "Drug War" and "Iloilo."
"Drug War" won Best Picture and its director Johnnie To won Best Director while "Iloilo" won Best Screenplay by Singapore director Anthony Chen and its actress Yeo Yann won Best Supporting Actress.
Aside from Zhang's Best Actress award, "The Grandmaster" also won Best Supporting Actor in the person of Wang Qingxiang.
Zhang is set to appear in 2015 films "Forever Young" and "The Crossing 2."