'Ghost in the Shell' spoilers, news: new feature reveals anime-to-film changes
The "Ghost in the Shell" movie is deep in development, and a previous report delved into the details regarding its villain, the things inspired by the anime, and how faithful it will be to the source material. The studios have now released a new video featurette giving new hints and comments from the director of the original animated films, Mamoru Oshii.
Throughout the trailer, actress Scarlett Johansson, who plays lead character Major Motoko Kusanagi, is seen wearing a skin-colored suit with a few gray or silver patches and padding. It is widely speculated that this will serve as the thermoptic suit seen in the anime, which allows the Major to become invisible.
In the trailer is a quick snapshot of the Major walking into a group of people sitting in a circle, and it is speculated that this scene may be related to the Individual Eleven, the terrorist group of which the main villain Kuze (Michael Pitt) is a part of.
There are other small homages to the anime series and films, such as the scene in the trailer where the Major is shown fighting a thug in a puddle of water. This scene was also depicted in the 1995 animated film that Mamoru Oshii directed.
A scene is also shown with an android Geisha and another shows the Major firing at an unidentified enemy alongside her fellow Section 9 comrade, Batou (Pilou Asbaek). These were also drawn from the anime series, particularly "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex."
Snippets of the 1995 film's opening, in which a cyborg body is being made, can be seen in the video clip as well. There is a scene where the body is coated in white and another clip in the video where the cyber-brain is being designed.
Oshii himself explains during the video clip that Johansson's portrayal of Major Motoko Kusanagi is the best he's ever seen. He further explains that, from what he had seen during his visit to the set, this is going to be a gorgeous iteration of the "Ghost in the Shell" story.
"Ghost in the Shell" opens in theaters on March 31, 2017.