Ghost In The Shell starts filming with Scarlett Johansson as Major

Ghost In The Shell

A movie that has been years in the making has finally started filming in New Zeeland. After Disney dropped the movie Paramount and Universal stepped in to distribute the DreamWorks production. Today, the first on set picture from Wellington, New Zeeland was released. Ghost In The Shell is directed by Rupert Sanders who also directed the Snow White and the Huntsman back in 2012 which starred Charlize Theron. Ghost In The Shell instead stars Scarlett Johansson as Major, a special ops leader and unique human-cyborg hybrid. For those unfamiliar with Ghost in the Shell, it is a manga series from Japan created by Masamune Shirow back in 1989. Besides the manga comics it has spawned a number of animated movies and long-running TV series called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The latter may have been the direct impetus to create a live-action movie, but I have heard rumors about a movie for over 15 years.

So what is Ghost In The Shell all about?

Here is the official synopsis…

Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “GHOST IN THE SHELL” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.

The franchise is set in a post-cyberpunk iteration of a possible future. In this future of corrupt officials, power players and terrorism it is up to the members of Public Security Section 9 to ensure the worst doesn’t happen. Scarlett Johansson’s character, Major, is a member of this team. For those familiar with Blade Runner, Neuromancer and the Matrix should consider this to be a unique Japanese blend mixed with nuclear fatalism. Now who doesn’t want to see a movie like that. I will admit that I do not follow the franchise closely, I have not read many of the manga editions and I haven’t seen the all seasons of the series, but I do know there is potential for greatness. The movie adaptation has made some changes to the, the main antagonist is Laughing Man and not Puppeteer. Over at Collider they described the antagonist as “is an anti-corporate terrorist and social media-savvy super-hacker who is able to mask his identity by both real-time manipulation of video feeds and cybernetic brains”. Laughing Man will be played by Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire). Ghost In The Shell is set for release on March 31st, 2017 and will also star Beat Takeshi Kitano and Juliette Binoche.

Stay tuned to SciFiempire.net for more news on Ghost In Shell as more promotion material is released.

Source; Collider.com