The first footage of Paramount Pictures controversial film adaptation of the Japanese manga, "Ghost in the Shell" has just arrived. Five short parts, each 10 seconds long, offers a first look at Scarlett Johansson as the augmented-cybernetic human called The Major.
According to the L.A. Times, the five short parts that comprised the first footage of "Ghost in the Shell" were scattered across last night's season finale of USA Network's "Mr. Robot." The film is set in a dystopian Japanese city where The Major and members of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission hunt down cybercriminals, but in a world were humanity and technology fuse in an intricate manner. Check out the first footage below.
"Ghost in the Shell" is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow and originally run between 1989 and 1990. In 1995, the English version was released and two years later, a third-person shooter game was developed by Exact and released on PlayStation.
The Paramount Pictures film adaptation of "Ghost in the Shell" was initially met with widespread criticism following their casting of Scarlett Johansson in a role that was obviously meant for a Japanese or Asian for that matter. Johansson is Danish and Polish, a far cry from The Major's roots as Japanese.
Screencrush reports that the studio was looking to do some visual effects on Johansson for her role in "Ghost in the Shell" to make her appear more Asian, something that viewers would most likely oppose to as well. The studio immediately discarded that idea and released a statement saying that they had no intention to apply those techniques moving forward in the production of the film.
"Ghost in the Shell" arrives in theaters this March 31, 2017. The film is directed by Rupert Sanders, with a story by Jonathan Herman and Jamie Moss.
