There’ll be no Disney treatment for Masamune Shirow’s classic anime.
[dropcap size=small]I[/dropcap]f you didn’t know already, Masamune Shirow’s futuristic sci-fi thriller Ghost in the Shell is getting some live-action treatment in 2017, with a US production of the famous Japanese manga and anime many know and love.
The film has been a long time coming. Thoughts of making a live-action adaptation began to form all the way back in 2008, and finally got into motion last year.
Disney was due to front the production of the film, but it has recently been reported that Paramount Pictures will now be releasing the title, as well as co-financing it.
A release date announced by Disney of 31st March, 2017 is due to stay the same with Paramount at the helm, and the adaptation is now said to be in pre-production, with Rupert Sanders (of Snow White and the Huntsmen fame) in the directors seat.
Scarlett Johasson has been cast in the title role as Motoko Kusanagi, the cybernetically enhanced leader of Section 9, which is a division of law-enforcement that seeks to curb hackers in a futuristic Japan.
The interest in Japanese manga and anime titles seems to have gripped Hollywood of late, with Ghost in the Shell being one of the more major productions, alongside the planned US live-action adaptation of Death Note, which is set to have Nat Wolff star as the title role.
Since DreamWorks is on board, it’ll be exciting to see just how they recreate Shirow’s futuristic backdrop, and what Paramount will bring to the table now that Disney has bowed out.
The live-action Ghost in the Shell is set to hit theatres 31 March, 2017.
