Sadly I can’t get my hopes up about Disney dropping the live action ‘Ghost in the Shell‘ from their line up as the major change is that now Paramount Pictures will be co-financing and releasing the film to theaters instead. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as DreamWorks had already planned to stop working with Disney after ‘The BFG’ is released this year so it seems the films which are set to be in production are finding their new homes. At this time there is no indication that its first quarter 2017 release date will be altered or that it won’t still begin shooting in the first quarter of 2016.
While I am the first to admit that I love Scarlett Johansson in action roles and think that she is the perfect fit to play a character similiar to that of Motoko who is the leading lady in this franchise, I just can’t picture a white washed version of this classic anime and manga. Having read Masamune Shirow’s manga and watched the anime, I have a true love for the world that he created and this just seems to go against what we’ve seen and read so far.
Still, we’ll see how Ruper Sanders ends up directing the film and how Sam Riley as well as Pilou Asbæk end up playing across from her. Aside from the actors not being Japanese, we also need to contend with the fact that major plot changes are coming for this adaptation which combined may take it out of Japan altogether. This location change would set a different tone and culture to the story which clearly had an important impact on the original work to anyone who had read or watched it.
Do you think that Paramount Pictures is a better fit for ‘Ghost in the Shell’ than Disney was? What are your thoughts on a live action adaptation of the manga and anime? Was he casting calls a mistake or a perfect fit? Share your thoughts below!
‘Ghost in the Shell’ is due on the big screen at the end of March 2017.
Sources: Screen Rant, Collider
