6 Key Things We Learned In The First Ghost In The Shell Trailer

After several intriguing teasers, the first full trailer for the much anticipated – and highly controversial – live-action remake of Ghost in the Shell has finally arrived, and thankfully, it looks pretty awesome. In case you don’t know, 1995’s Ghost in the Shell – based on the manga series from Masamune Shirow – is considered one of the best examples of the cyberpunk science fiction sub-genre and one of the greatest anime movies of all-time. Since it was announced that the Hollywood version (from Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders) would star Scarlett Johansson, it's been met with widespread hostility amidst claims of whitewashing - and understandably so. Now that we're starting to see footage from the film though, it's hoped that people will judge it on its own merits and not the media storm that's grown around it. Certainly, the trailer suggests a stylish sci-fi action flick with both a brain and a taste for 80's pop, if the inclusion of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" is anything to go by. What can we glean about the new Ghost in the Shell from this first proper look though? It may be light on the nitty-gritty plot details, but it does give us a good feel for the visual aesthetic of the film, its mood and tone and the connections to the anime. And so, after giving it a few watches, here are the 6 most important things we've learned. 6) New Port City With the casting of ScarJo in the lead, it hadn’t previously been completely clear if the movie would embrace the original Japanese setting of the anime. This trailer addresses that immediately though by showing us the cyberpunk Japanese cityscape. In case that's not obvious enough, we also see a group of creepy robot geishas attacking their clients. Yep, this is definitely set in Japan. Visually, the setting is a striking one, with bright holographic advertisements and avatars signs littering the rooftops of the crowded skyscrapers. It’s definitely inspired by the city from the original anime, but it’s most obvious precursor is the famous urban setting of Blade Runner, with its images of Asian women on the side of buildings. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as it's hard to depict a futuristic sci-fi city without borrowing from that seminal movie. In the original manga, the fictional city is called Niihama, or New Port City – the new capital of Japan (now a major superpower) since Tokyo and other sizeable population centres were destroyed in a global nuclear war. We're not yet sure whether the film will share this backstory, but it’s probably most likely that these details will be edited out in order to streamline the plot. 5) The Major’s Introduction After getting a feel for the setting, the trailer introduces Johansson as the Major. As the geisha-bots attack, the Major stands on the rooftop above. Announcing that she's “going in,” she shrugs off a military coat to reveal her body-hugging high-tech thermoptic suit. After jumping from the roof, she crashes through the window below and mows down the bad guys. We're guessing the scene used is also the first reveal of the character in the film – because it's taken practically wholesale from the 1995 anime. It makes for a fantastic action-packed opening, one which gets across the character’s core sexiness and incredible capability in the field. It seems that the major (no pun intended) area from which the movie is borrowing from the anime is its set pieces. Not only is the Major’s introduction lifted from the 1995 film, but so is a fight at the docks seen later on in the trailer. In that sequence, we see the Major using the optic camouflage function of her suit to deal with an assailant during a scuffle in the water. The Major’s invisibility is an important part of her arsenal and it looks like, just as we saw in the teaser trailer, this will be a significant element of the movie. Naturally, it also helps that it requires the actress to wear next to nothing. 4) Impressive Action Scenes Speaking of the fight scenes, Scarlett Johansson is a natural at portraying badass women by now, after Lucy and all those times playing Black Widow for Marvel. It's no surprise then that things look great on the action front in the Ghost in the Shell trailer. The choreography and cinematography truly shine, as the use of slow motion and the revolving camera angles obviously bring to mind The Matrix, which is a welcome homage in this case as it brings things full circle. Unlike Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell predates The Matrix and the Wachowski siblings have even admitted that the anime was a major influence on their work. It makes sense, then, that the new Ghost in the Shell should return the favour. The whole trailer looks terrific, actually, which leads us to believe that the movie will be a feast for the eyes. Producer Avi Arad previously spoke about how they used a “new LED lighting process” in order for the “palettes feel like the anime.” Judging by what we see here, that seems to have worked out perfectly. 3) An Enhanced Backstory Something that will jump out to fans of the anime is the changes made to Johansson’s character. First of all, the character looks to have lost her usual name of Motoko Kusanagi as she's referred to solely as the Major, presumably due to the actress’ obvious lack of Japanese heritage. However, the trailer also makes clear that some bigger alterations have been made to the Major’s backstory. The Major, we learn, was once a human being whose life was saved by being upgraded into a cybernetic body after some unknown casualty. In exchange for her renewed life, she's hired as an agent of Section 9 - a public safety governmental department. Unfortunately, the process leaves the Major distanced from her humanity and looking to reclaim her identity. This is at odds with the 1995 anime in which Kusanagi is heavily implied to be wholly cybernetic. Already some fans have reacted negatively to this, labeling it as too close to the plot of Robocop. While there's a definite similarity between the two, the new backstory is actually taken from a different anime incarnation of the character. In the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex TV series, it's retconned that the Major was previously a human. Though it does put people in mind of yet another classic sci-fi movie that's come before it, the decision to recast the Major is a good one, as portraying her as an upgraded human brings into focus the themes of the story. i.e. what is the place of the soul and individual identity in a homogenized, computerized world? Besides that, the amnesiac action hero is also tried-and-tested box office gold, especially after the likes of Jason Bourne and Wolverine. 2) The International Cast In defense of the ScarJo casting controversy, Ghost in the Shell’s producer Steven Paul claimed that this version of the tale was a more “international story” than the Japanese-based original anime. “It wasn’t just focused on Japanese; it was supposed to be an entire world,” explained Paul. “That’s why I say the international approach is, I think, the right approach to it.” We get a first taste of what he means in the trailer, as we get to see the diverse cast of actors who spring from a vast array of cultural backgrounds. Apart from Johansson, there's French actress Juliette Binoche, who plays Hanka scientist Dr. Ouelet, Australian actor Lasarus Ratuere as Ishikawa, Section 9’s tech expert, Singaporean actor Chin Han as Togusa, the only “natural” Section 9 employee and Japanese star Takeshi Kitano as Section 9 director Chief Aramaki. We’re pretty sure she’s not in the trailer, but Rila Fukushima (of The Wolverine and Arrow fame) is also set to appear in the film. The most prominent supporting character seen in the trailer is Danish actor (and Game of Thrones star) Pilou Asbaek as Batou, otherwise known as the blonde guy with the small cybernetic lenses over his eyes. It won’t come as a surprise to fans that the character looks to have a significant part in the movie, as he's generally depicted as the secondary protagonist of the series. In the manga and the anime, Batou is the Major’s second-in-command. He's also the central character of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, in which he investigates Kusanagi’s disappearance. The live-action movie has replicated his look perfectly, and it seems he's being cast in a similar role as the Major’s partner who she has to learn to trust. 1) The Man In The Shadows As is clear by now, Ghost in the Shell is not just borrowing from the 1995 movie but pinching inspiration from all over the shop, taking bits and pieces from the manga and the various anime movies and TV series. Eagle-eyed fans might have noticed that the creepy guy at the end of the trailer doesn’t fit with the depiction of the Puppetmaster, the master cyber hacker villain from the first film. Though we don’t get a good look at his face, this is Michael Pitt. “Everything they told you was a lie,” the actor says, while channelling his best Christoph Waltz impression. “They did not save your life, they stole it.” As previously revealed, the identity of the villain is Hideo Kuze – another element taken from Innocence. In the manga, Kuze is a childhood friend of Motoko’s who she convinced to undergo the cyber-conversion procedure. As is clear from the trailer, he didn't take to it - believing it robbed him of his humanity – and sets about destroying everyone with a so-called cyberbrain. It’s easy to see why the producers plumped for Kuze for this movie (which they no doubt hope will be the first of many). As the movie seems to be pushing the Major’s character arc to the fore, it makes sense for the villain to be a figure from her past. Still, this is something of a surprising development, as it was previously heavily rumoured that Pitt was playing the Laughing Man, the main villain of the Stand Alone Complex series. That said, given the cherry-picking approach the movie seems to have to the canon, his character could easily be a combination of the two.