Given the uproar over the perceived whitewashing of Hollywood's adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, could Rila Fukushima be secretly playing the "real" Major? In the manga and anime, Section 9 leader Motoko Kusinagi is 100% cybernetic, meaning she can transfer her consciousness from one android body (or shell) to the next. Given Fukushima's relatively late addition to the film, could Dreamworks be doing a bit of course correcting?
Filming began in Japan this past April. Such a development would actually be in keeping with the themes of Masamune Shirow's manga as the show is a very literal exploration of its title "ghosts in the shell".
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 March 31, 2017.