Paramount Drops Stylish First Teaser For Ghost In The Shell

Get a peek of Scarlett Johansson in action as Major Motoko Kusanagi in the stylish first teaser for Paramount’s Ghost in the Shell.

In the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it clip, Johansson’s elite cyborg heroine delivers a sucker punch to an unsuspecting thug. Cloaked in some form of invisible technology, the leader of Section 9 truly looks the part as she begins to crack down on the city’s crime levels, and the fact that this teaser contains a nod to ‘Tokyo 11.13’ leads us to believe that the full trailer reveal is right around the corner. Stay tuned for more on that one.

Drawing elements from both Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, Paramount has stressed in the past that the live-action rendition of Masamune Shirow’s beloved manga will stay true to the anime across the board – from the far-future setting to cyberpunk themes.

That means no Puppet Master, according to producer Avi Arad, who teased that the Major will actually be confronting Hideo Kuze and the “Individual Eleven” come 2017. A totalitarian terrorist group – one fighting against Japan taking in refugees and foreigners – the studio is actively packaging Ghost in the Shell in such a way that it taps into modern-day political issues. Like all great sci-fi, it’ll have its roots in reality, and here Arad reveals how he hopes long-time fans of the manga will be pleased with the live-action movie.

“Hopefully the film feels like the anime. I feel like such a geek making this movie because we are really bringing it to life so faithfully. We are bringing things we saw in the anime to the fore in live action so I’m very excited for the fans.”

Directed by Rupert Sanders, Ghost in the Shell opens 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.