Their seems to be a bit of controversy with the live-action adaptation of
Ghost In The Shell has very few Asian actors listed among the main cast. Scarlett Johansson, who plays Section 9 leader Motoko Kusanagi, seems to be receiving the brunt of the backlash from anime fans as the lead character in the film. Sam Yoshiba, director of the international business division at Kodnasha, the company that publishes
Ghost In The Shell, told The Hollywood Reporter:
"Looking at her career so far, I think Scarlett Johansson is well-cast. She has the cyberpunk feel. And we never imagined it would be a Japanese actress in the first place. This is a chance for a Japanese property to be seen around the world." Yoshiba recently visited the film's set in New Zealand and remarked that he was,
"impressed by the respect being shown for the source material."
Ghost in the Shell is an upcoming, cyberpunk sci-fi film from Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures. Rupert Sanders directs from a script written by Jamie Moss and Jonathan Herman. Scarlett Johansson stars as Motoko Kusanagi. Pilou Asbæk plays her right-hand man, Batou. Beat Takeshi plays their boss, Lt. Col. Daisuke Aramaki. Michael Pitt will play the villain of the film, The Laughing Man. Ghost in the Shell opens in US theaters on April 14, 2017.