Lucy, Black Widow and soon, Major Motoko Kusanagi. Come 2017, Hollywood veteran Scarlett Johansson will be headlining Paramount’s lavish Ghost in the Shell movie as The Major, an elite cyborg enforcer who spearheads a task force known as Section 9.
It’s another kick-ass role for the actress, who discussed her involvement in the Rupert Sanders-directed movie while chatting to Entertainment Tonight. Designed to take you behind the scenes of Ghost in the Shell, up above you’ll see Johansson and Co. engage in a pre-CG firefight on the streets of Wellington, New Zealand – acting as a stand-in for the futuristic cityscape of Masamune Shirow’s cyberpunk saga.
Tapping into Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, the creative team behind Paramount’s live-action movie have continually stressed that the 2017 tentpole will remain faithful to the source material. It’s certainly not the only manga adaptation simmering in development, what with Death Note and the long-gestating Alita: Battle Angel also cramming up the pipeline, but can Rupert Sanders’ starry actioner ignite a newfound interest in Japanese comics going forward?
Ghost in the Shell is earmarked for release on March 31, 2017, at which point Johansson will be flanked by Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche, Kaori Momoi, Rila Fukushima, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, and Tuwanda Manyimo.
In case you missed it, yesterday’s über-stylish teaser can be seen below and it not only recreates an iconic scene from the original movie, but it also preps you for Sunday’s full reveal.
