Scarlett Johansson has been offered the lead role in the live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow's classic sci-fi manga series Ghost in the Shell. The project has been long in the making but now seems to have gathered steam with the arrival of director Rupert Sanders and, if the casting of Johansson is confirmed, production could begin as early as next year.
The iconic manga series, published between 1989 and 1991, follows the adventures of Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg and member of the counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, who is on the trail of a cyber-criminal known as The Puppeteer. Set in 2029, the manga series features humans whose brains have been enhanced by the addition of cybernetic parts. Motoko herself is sporting a full-body prosthesis and a 'cyberbrain'. But, just as our computers nowadays, they became vulnerable to hackers, who can alter their memory or take over their senses. The Puppeteer is considered responsible for implanting false memories into the cyberbrains of unsuspecting individuals.
The manga series has been successfully adapted by filmmaker Mamoru Oshii, who released Ghost in the Shell in 1995 and Ghost in the Shell 2 in 2004. Similarly, the manga novels have inspired video games and at least one animated series. This live-action adaptation, however, will mark a return to Shirow's popular manga novels.
Playing out-of-this-world characters seems to have become somewhat of a specialty for Scarlett Johansson. Her most recent films have seen the actress portray a sentient OS in Spike Jonze's Her (2013), a man-eating alien in Jonathan Glazer's thought-provoking, visually impressive experiment Under the Skin (2013) and a superhuman in Luc Besson's Lucy (2014). So, those familiar with Scarlett Johansson's latest projects will surely find that the role of a cyborg fits her like a glove.
This would-be sci-fi blockbuster is due to be a thriller filmed in 3D under the direction of British filmmaker Rupert Sanders, man behind Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). This is the first time Shirow's seminal manga will be given a Made in Hollywood remake.
As often happens in Tinseltown, the makers of Ghost in the Shell initially had someone else in mind for the role of Motoko Kusanagi. Margot Robbie, who recently signed up for a role in DC's superhero feature Suicide Squad had been attached to the project since September but pulled out, leaving the role up for grabs. It was reported that DreamWorks offered Johansson $10m for the role and the chance to become a common fixture on the Comic-Con circuit.
Source: TV Muse
