‘Ghost in the Shell’ Begins Filming, See First Photo of Scarlett Johansson
One of the things we just didn’t have time or space to get into in our Captain America: Civil War review, is just how great Scarlett Johansson is in the film. Black Widow is so dynamic and exciting to watch, it’s almost a crime Marvel hasn’t given Johansson her own action movie yet. Well, Paramount Pictures has beaten them to the punch. Filming has officially begun on Ghost in the Shell, starring Scarlett Johansson in an adaptation of the classic anime film and Kodansha Comics manga of the same name.
The film is directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) but perhaps more troubling is the film is produced by the team behind the Amazing Spider-Man films and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Johansson is joined in the film by a mostly international cast that includes Beat Takeshi Kitano as Daisuke Aramaki, Juliette Binoche as Dr. Ouelet, Michael Pitt as Kuze, Pilou Asbæk as Batou, and Kaori Momoi. It’s nice to see for once that a project has an Asian cast playing Asian roles. Though Michael Pitt doesn’t look like a Kuze and, uh, Scarlett Johansson is about as far from Asian as you can get, so never mind.
Margot Robbie was initially offered the lead role in the film, but turned it down to work on Suicide Squad instead. Steven Spielberg, whose DreamWorks Pictures has been championing the film, went to Johansson with a $10 million offer to star and the rest is history.
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “GHOST IN THE SHELL” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.
Ghost in the Shell opens in theaters on March 31, 2017.