Producer Steven Paul recently made headlines this week with news that he'll look to spearhead a live-action adaptation of
Lone Wolf and Cub but in a recent interview with BuzzFeed, his current Western anime remake, Ghost in the Shell, which stars Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Michael Pitt and Takeshi Kitano dominated the conversation. Paul sought to allay fandom skepticism and negative press about the project, stemming from the fact that many view the cast as being "white-washed." Said Paul:
" I think everybody is going to end up being really happy with it. They’re going to be very, very happy with it when they see what we’ve actually done with it, and I don’t think anybody’s going to be disappointed. There [are] all sorts of people and nationalities in the world in Ghost in the Shell. We’re utilizing people from all over the world. … There’s Japanese in it. There’s Chinese in it. There’s English in it. There’s Americans in it. I don’t think it was just a Japanese story. Ghost in the Shell was a very international story, and it wasn’t just focused on Japanese; it was supposed to be an entire world. That’s why I say the international approach is, I think, the right approach to it. I think we’ve done the manga comic great honor. As I said, the fans will be very happy, because there’s a great respect that’s been paid to the manga. We’ve been very, very careful. Obviously, there’s some new imagination, as well. I mean, like anything, when you’re making a movie, you’ve gotta bring your own.”
A very interesting choice of words by Paul and statements that certainly lend themselves to supporting a specific fan theory about Johnasson's role in the film [a theory that we'll dive into in the latest casting announcement] . In addition to the above remarks, Paul also revealed that the other members of Section 9 will refer to Johansson's character as "
the Major" rather than Major Kusanagi as she's known in the TV anime, film and manga.
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.