Korean actress Song Hye Kyo and Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming arrive for the red carpet of 4th Beijing International Film Festival at China's National Grand Theater on April 16, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo : Getty Images/Feng Li)
While "Ghost in the Shell" is set to hit theaters in the United States on March 31, the sci-fi crime action thriller film directed by Ruper Sanders will premiere in South Korea on March 19. Scarlett Johansson, who plays the lead character The Major, will be in Korea before the premiere.
On March 17, Sanders and Johansson will visit Korea to promote "Ghost in the Shell." They will be joined by Johansson's co-stars Juliette Binoche and Pilou Asbaek, according to Korea Herald.
This should be a great opportunity of Johansson and South Korean actress Song Joong Ki's "Descendants of the Sun" co-star Song Hye Kyo to meet. Not many fans are aware that the two actresses both celebrate their birthdays every Nov. 2.
This year, Johansson will turn 33 while Hye Kyo will turn 36. When the latter was born, she was so sick that doctors thought she would not survive, and upon her recovery, her parents registered her birth on Feb. 26, 1982 instead of her actual birthdate.
Hye Kyo is set to star in Park Sunwoo's upcoming film "Ships Passing in the Night." Before starring in "Descendants of the Sun," she starred in John Woo's drama film "The Crossing" opposite Chinese actress Zhang Xiyi and Japanese-Taiwanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.
On the other hand, Johansson has several Japanese co-stars in "Ghost in the Shell." Among them are Yutaka Izumihara, Takeshi Kitano and Rila Fukushima, who played Yukio in "The Wolverine," a red priestess in Game of Thrones" and Tasu Yamashiro/Katana in "Arrow."
The casting of Johansson to play The Major in the film adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow was widely criticized. Many critics believed the role should have been given to an Asian actress.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Johansson said she certainly would never presume to play another race of a person. She pointed out that "having a franchise with a female protagonist driving it is such a rare opportunity."
Watch the trailer of "Ghost in the Shell" from Paramount Pictures here:
