Following the success of “Lucy,” Scarlett Johansson looks ready to take on another action pic, this one coming from the world of Japanese anime.
Johansson is set to star in DreamWorks’ adaptation of the popular anime pic “Ghost in the Shell.” Deadline Hollywood had reported that the actress had the offer to star but at the time she was still undecided about taking the role. Sources now say she has agreed to star in the pic.
The story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.
Rupert Sanders is on board to direct. Avi Arad and Steven Paul are producing the film from a script by Bill Wheeler. Mark Sourian is exec producing.
Insiders also tell Variety that Paramount has the option to come on as co-producer and financier and that decision is expected in the coming weeks.
DreamWorks principal Steven Spielberg is a huge fan of the original and has long wanted to get this film off the ground. A commitment from a star like Johansson should help in getting the pic greenlit for production.
Besides Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lawrence, Johansson is becoming one of the few actresses in town with the clout to get a project greenlit on her name alone.
“Lucy” made $394 million worldwide and Johansson can be seen next in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” bowing in May. Johansson has also done a nice job of balancing action-heavy tentpoles with serious dramas and comedies.
She received rave reviews for Spike Jonze’s “Her” and is a part of the ensemble of the Coen brothers’ next pic “Hail, Caesar!” She is repped by CAA and LBI Entertainment.
More whitewashing by Hollywood
I get the argument and wouldn’t it be great to cast Asian actors. No doubt they could find a supremely talented cast in Japan. However, when studios and investors pour millions into a movie budget, they need as much of a guarantee on their investment as possible. Scarlett sells more tickets globally than a less popular Asian counterpart. It’s just business.
Politics and banter aside, there’s no doubt that Scarlett Johansson will do a great job, but the main character here is supposed to be Japanese. It’d be like making a movie with Wonder Woman and casting a Japanese actress…just sorta weird.
Hollywood doesn’t have the balls to make this movie. What they are making is not Ghost in the Shell and casting Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi proves this.
Rila Fukushima, Karen Fukuhara, and Rinko Kikuchi are the three actresses that come to mind for the part of Motoko Kusanagi if this is indeed the part Scarlett got. I have nothing against Scarlett but I’m getting tired of Hollywood giving every tough female role to Scarlett Johansson. I’m also getting very tired of Hollywood changing the ethnicity of certain characters to fit the role for Scarlett Johansson. If someone in Hollywood ever does a biography of Oprah Winfrey, I know they are going to get Scarlett Johansson to play the part of Oprah.
Black Widow yes, Motoko no she not Asian Stop messing up a great Anime
there going to screw it up and Gits fans will be mad
I just hope they don’t screw it all up.
While it is a good marketing ploy using a famous actress, Johansson has been associated with several strong female characters and eventually, the consumer expects the predictability of the acting. A less familiar and asian choice will match up to the story in distinctively cultural instances of GITS, as seen in Stand Alone Complex.
I love ghost in the shell and I’m so excited that Scarlett might be in it…she’s very talented at anything she does. Maybe other women might LOOK better for the part in terms of the character’s race and traits, but I am thrilled that a very capable actress took it with enough clout to actually allow this to actually become a Hollywood movie
omg TERRIBLE casting choice! CLEARLY Cobie Smulders should play the Major – she LOOKS like the Major FFS!
I always new Hollywood and the scum who ran it were greedy and racist. Thankfully, this movie won’t actually be made with Johanson in the lead role, not with all the bad publicity this is getting.
The hell? The main character is Asian for gods sake! Major fail for Universal and for Johansson. She’s already Black Widow, she doesn’t need another action franchise, especially one that should go to an Asian actress.
Yeah, she’s a greedy piece of, I’ll stop right there. I’m confident this movie won’t be made though, so try not to worry.
kate beckensale should play the role. fits the description way better.
No, the lead girl has to be East Asian.
She got the job purely for marketing reasons, dreamworks and spielburg only go for sure money makers. I’ll wait and see it will probs not be great but maybe it will not be to bad.
Everyone is forgetting the main reason this is a good thing. There are many scenes in the movies and series where the Major gets totally naked. This is a very good thing.
No, this is not a good thing, it’s a very bad thing. Most people don’t wanna see ScarJo in this movie at all. I’m 1 of them. The actress has to be East Asian.
I’m impressed with you wanting an East Asian actress. Get back on that high horse! Take several steps forward for race for this. Enough of Hollywood ignoring great East Asian actresses.
Get off your east asian high horse, no one’s impressed. Take a step back from race, for fuck’s sake and just pray they don’t pull any female character archetypes like arbitrary romance or needing to be protected or some bullshit.
Protect the story first. I could give a fuck if it’s ScarJo or Lucy Lui.
By the success of her last movie “LUCY” it’s not a surprise that she is a perfect for the role of Major Motoko Kusanagi. I am also huge fan. From searching in her latest movies, I come up to this article that makes me think of what’s come up to this huge adaptation. http://goo.gl/6JxNII
She is far from perfect. She is the worst possible person for this role.
I’m upset that the Japanese made a film with a Japanese main character, why do all their films have Japanese actors and not one of every ethnicity? /sarcasm
The studio bought the rights to make a version of this story for another market that is primarily of European decent. If people want or are interested in seeing the original it is readily available. When the demographic changes in this market so will the choice of actors.
Oh just shut up. That is some idiotic reasoning and hollow sarcasm you just provided us. Nobody gives a damn about the main audience being European, the lead actress still has to be East Asian. The U.S. is not a “white”/European country, it’s multicultural, and it’s arts and entertainment should reflect that.
Don’t be silly. Ghost in the Shell was never a good story or movie to begin with — BUT, changing things because the market is different is just plain dumb. Ghost in the Shell is set in a future era where the main hero’s name is Makoto Kusanagi. If the hero isn’t Makoto Kusanagi, then it is NOT Ghost in the Shell. Or are you saying that we should change other classics like say “Robin Hood”, maybe make it a black woman? Or something equally silly.
Sure we can go watch the original movie, but the point here is that making a movie that isn’t really Ghost in The shell is redundant and not needed. Why call it Ghost in the Shell when it isn’t? We already have horror examples of this in movies like “Resident Evil” where the mvoies have NOTING to do with the games. People’s argument then is — hey you don’t have to watch the movies… BUT, as we have seen the damn movies have started influencing the actual games and making them crappy. A shitty Western movie will no doubt influence the original movie and series. Reboots are not needed! Then again, the idiots are making an “all female” cast reboot for Ghost busters. So I’m not really surprised.
“GITS was never a good story or movie” that right there just shows you either have no knowledge/experience of the film or you’re a troll or the cartoon was just too intellectual for you and went over your head
Reblogged this on Filmologìe of monsters and little princesses.
Scarlett Johansson? Worst possible choice for the character Motoko “Major” Kusanagi. The success of Lucy wasn’t because of Scarlett’s performance in my opinion but the idea which is nothing new to anime films like Akira, anyone could of played that part and have a better performance. Motoko doesn’t have to be played by an asian actress since it’s a far distant future where everyone will eventually be mixed in every continent, we can’t forget that World War 4 has passed with Imperial America and Japan becoming the victors of the war. If you go back to the original film neither the Major nor Batou look japanese, that being said I can only think of one good actress that can pull it off in my opinion with the look and acting skills which is Olivia Wilde and the other choices that look the part but I’m not sure if they’ll perform well would be Kristin Kreuk (TV success), Milla Jovovich (veteran in scfi/action films), Olivia Munn (new upcoming). I hope they recast and make this a serious scfi film, Scarlett Johansson’s bad acting will ruin this film without a doubt. Olivia Wilde emotionless looking straight at you as she did in Tron Legacy without blinking would be perfect.
And the animated movies don’t count, the Major still looks Asian in the manga and anime tv series.
No, the lead does have to be East Asian. No Jovovich and no Wilde either.
Ok, first off Motoko is a cyborg, so technically she doesn’t need to have to be asian feautures. I fact, while lots of characters in the saga were clearly asian, Motoko allways remained animeish
That being said, I think SJ doesn’t fit the least with the character. My personal favorite for the rol would be Romijn Stamos, I think she would make a great Major, but any of the asian actresses mentioned below could do it a hundred times better.
No, no and a thousand times no. Rebecca Romijn is a terrible choice. The lead actress has to be East Asian. That definitely matters.
People will find anything to cry rascism ove rnow wont they…Yeah plenty of asian actresses so WHY DIDNT ANY OF THEM GO FOR THE PART…just saying….no one forced them to stay at home when they were Castng parts
They didn’t do casting calls, stupid, they just chose her out of the blue. And yes it is racist, so go check your privilege.
Despicable but utterly unsurprising. “Market research” has told the suits in charge that white leads sell movies, and they don’t mind how racist and absurd this nonsense has gotten.
this is…… awful and exhausting, but honestly, we all already knew it was gonna be completely garbage, not worth anyone’s time. hardcore fans aren’t going to see this travesty in theaters because… well, it’s going to be terrible, and nobody wants to see something terrible, especially not when you’ll be able to see it for free(without giving any money to the creators of the garbage) within the month with pirating n shit. and i doubt it’ll get a lot of traffic from casual, everyday movie viewers who haven’t heard of anime, since GITS is kind of… different and dense compared with american films(or at least the ones i’ve seen lately). it’s terrible and awful and nauseating and offensive and honestly it’s BORING to see them bang their heads against a brick wall over and over, but eventually they’ll fail enough times that nobody will ever be willing to give them the money to try, and then we’ll never suffer through an american trying to make a live action anime remake. god willing, anyway. heres hoping that everyone behind the making of movies like this either gives up, gets the money pulled out from under them, or inexplicably kicks the bucket.
So, they’re casting Scarlett Johansson, a white woman, in the role of Motoko Kusanagi, a Japanese character, from a Japanese manga and anime that takes place in Japan and was made in Japan and is entirely Japanese?
Who looked at this and decided “Yep, we need a white lady” because whoever that was is a moron. There are plenty East-Asian actresses that could’ve played her. Maggie Q, Kelly Hu, Ming-Na Wen, Lucy Liu, Rinko Kikuchi, etc.
I hope this film flops.
sadly it might turn into another Avatar the last airbender, please Lord don’t let them ruin another great anime
I’m actually against Johansson taking the role because I find her to be a mediocre actor, but you realize this is Dreamworks right? Meaning it’ll be animated?
Dreamworks does mostly Animated films, but they also do live action films with heavy CGI.
Worst thing that ever happened to me
Noooooo!!! Mrs Johansson should not be playing the Major in Ghost in the Shell. She is just not suited for the role. Pick another actress PLEASE!!!
This is going to suck <_<
Why did they cast a white woman to play a Japanese character, who lives in Japan, and has a Japanese name? Hollywood is sf racist jfc.
All I can honestly say about this subject is don’t screw up the Ghost in the shell world or near moderate damage will be done to any actors,director,and producers involved.There are still fans with great loyalty to Masamune shirows dream
Even attempting to cast a non-East Asian lead is already ruining the film that might not even make it to production.
Yes it is abundantly clear from the comments bellow.Damage of a moderate scale will come, if the world of Ghost in the shell gets warped and knowing Hollywood it will be warped
Yet another case of Hollywood whitewashing. I don’t care if she’s a good actress, cast Asian characters with Asian actresses. smh
Also why is a slave worker representative getting so much love in Hollywood ever since she quit being a humanitarian ambassador for Oxfam and taken on the role of slave trade promoter for an israeli company?
Mel Gibson get’s blacklisted from society for a drunken rant against jews, while Scarlet Johansson keeps getting major roles for her support of Jewish slave owners, Sodastream…what does that say about Hollywood?
Johansson?! really?! didn’t she prove in Lucy that she can’t hold a movie on her own?! and to play in the lead role of GITS? omg Hollywood is insane! what horrendous, horrendous, casting!
I don’t see any problem with setting the story in America. In Akira the idiosyncratic dystopian Japan was a huge character, and it’s hard to imagine the story being set anywhere else. With Ghost in the Shell, though, the setting is essentially “Cyberpunk Dystopia.” Japan’s culture isn’t enmeshed with the overall story to nearly the degree that it was in Akira. The way I think of it, The original GitS has Japanese characters and is set in Japan because it was created by Japanese people, for a largely Japanese audience. Doesn’t it make sense that an American adaptation would likewise be set in America?
Scarlett Johanssen is a talented actress, and she’s particularly good at playing eerily inhuman characters (Lucy, Under the Skin) and ruthless secret agents (her recurring role as the Black Widow in Marvel films.) It’s inspired casting, and I’m sure she’ll do an excellent job with the role.
I get that people don’t like the idea of casting white actors for roles that were originally imagined with other races. We need more diversity in casting, and whitewashed films like Exodus and Avatar are as silly as they are offensive. But this is one movie where I think the decision makes perfect sense. There are few Asian actresses who are as talented at playing this type of character, and none who have any where the kind of star power that Scarlett Johannsen currently has.
Any popular asian actress comes to mind and has those exact characteristics you mentioned, GTFO
LUCY FUCKIN LIU
Maggie Q
Hettienne Park
Doona Bae
Kelly Hu
Ming-Na Wen
Michelle Yeoh
All have variably well known actresses who all actually have some training in martial arts and have played the serious secret agent type. Fuck every thing about this casting decision and steven spielberg and scarlett johanssen and dreamworks.
Annoyed, putting another Asian actress that there not JAPANESE is a kind of racism too. This stereotype that all Asians are similar is a worst racism. I’m Asian and I don’t like when people thinks Asians are all the same and call someone Japanese when they’re Chinese or Korean, for example in my country. Or in some countries that Chinese people are more predominant and everyone thinks every Asian is Chinese.
Well, you certainlly understood my point of view. Sorry for my English.
I totally agree with you! I just wonder why did they even approve of a Hollywood version of GITS in the first place??? Anybody in their right mind would always have a flashback of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Dragonball with this project. This may only rake in the big bucks because of ScarJo, but to those GITS fans out there, would we really want to patronize this injustice?
This makes me barf almost as much as when they were talking about remaking Akira with Tetsuo being changed to “Travis.” I really like SJ, I do, but it doesn’t matter who they put in this movie, if it’s Americanized it will be bad. Most of the original fans of the show will probably hate it, and imo the story’s a bit too complex and intellectual for it to be a huge box-office hit. I don’t know how they would expect it to make very much money.
when is hollywood going to stop throwing white people at every single role no matter what. Set in egypt? Lets have white actors. Native Americans? Omg we so need white actors for that. Asians? Do we have any white actors around for that? Could you maybe quit acting like 1959 hollywood for a second because it doesn’t look good on you and I’m skipping movies I would have otherwise seen because I feel like my racist great uncle made them.
How far does Hollywood have to fall to figure out that whitewashing movies is seen as a negative thing in the public eye? I mean sure, ScarJo CAN play the part but, I don’t think she SHOULD play the part.
I (as a black male) feel that sometimes the industry is just plain lazy when it comes to casting and they don’t like taking risks. I know that somewhere out there, there is a phenomenal Asian American actress who is better suited for the role.
not the best choice she doesnt have the complexity, seriousness and smartness portray by Motoko
ok but what about rinko kikuchi???
Devon Aoki (Deadly Little Miho – Sin City) would have been a better choice.
I’m all for a live-action adaptation to the classic manga/anime series “Ghost in the Shell”, but even ScarJo’s possible participation does nothing to alleviate my skepticism. Let’s be honest: the Masamune Shirow manga and feature films contain incredibly esoteric and abstract philosophical concepts that never transferred well to the big screen. Even the far more accessible “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” and “Ghost in the Shell S A C 2nd Gig” TV series (written and directed by other people than Shirow) could be more often than not extremely hard to follow. While the basic premise of the manga and anime is readily identifiable in today’s increasingly cyber crime-oriented landscape, whoever ends up putting a live-action adaptation together will really need to change the overarching theme to make it something that will be both enjoyable on a purely visceral level AND still remain as intellectually stimulating as the source material. But I would be disappointed if all we end up with is another action slug-fest. We need more “Inceptions” and fewer “Lucy’s”.
why? why? why? would you whitewash this amazing anime? scarlett johansson cast as japanese? im done. boycotting this movie for sure
Should of picked a black women for the lols.
Ah yes more white washing. Thanks for reminding me that Asians and Asian Americans have no place in mainstream media other than to perpetuate the orientialist stereotypes. You’ll use our narratives and ideas, but heaven forbid you actually CAST US.
You da best, Hollywood.
boo! boooo!
A billion Asians to choose from and they choose…Boooo!!
The only way I can see this working with Johansson as Kusanagi is: Kusanagi has to go undercover to America and switches to an american body prosthetic???
Negative, Scarlet would have to take a secondary to minor role for this to effectively play its course but we all know that’s no going to happen
This literally has nothing to do with race or anything it is about the fact that this is an already made already brilliant movie/anime. Why is no one coming up with original movies????? YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY THINK THAT IT WILL COME OUT AND BE AS MUCH OF A SUCCESS AS THE ORIGINAL????? PLEASE DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH THIS MOVIE WHO CAN I GO TO, TO STOP THIS???? WHO CAN I CONTACT CAN I START A PETITION??????? OMG IM SO ANGRY THAT THIS IS IN THE WORKS. CAN’T MASAMUNE SHIROW DO SOMETHING??????
If this travesty is announced and happening then I don’t imagine DreamWorks would go off of someones word.A contract has come to pass and only a massive negative outcry bordering on violence will halt this production. But let’s face facts people can say there opinions but you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who would back up there stake
I knew Spielberg had the American rights to GITS and I was hoping for a couple of high tech animated films to come about from it. The Motoko character is complex her back story alone before joining section nine is good for an entire movie. Oh well, I’m sure the only way SB will get backing is to promise yet another CG’ed to death run and gun monstrosity. I’m not a Johansen fan I think her talent is over rated but i”m sure she’ll do as good as any American in butchering a great story.
PLEASE keep Yoko Kanno and Origa on board for the soundtrack! Their work on GITS movies and the two anime series is a must!
Well i dont mind realy not like an live action will ever be better than the anime/manga anyway so who cares who is cast. Most Asian people cant act anyway.
When you say ‘Most Asians can’t act’, are you comparing them to what you have seen in Hollywood? Because then, that is an unfair comparison.
Sadly I must agree with this, as much as I might admire there shear creativity and lively imaginations. The acting I’ve seen is anything but imaginative,still with this being written,I feel as though I should still give to them my admiration for there tenacity, and professionalism.