Ghost in the Shell is still currently in development, but Paramount Pictures released a series of 10 to 15-second trailers yesterday teasing what fans can expect out of the film.
Most of the trailers focus on Scarlett Johansson’s Major Motoko Kusanagi in various situations. In the first clip we see her in, she’s alone in a room, taking in her surroundings. In the second clip, she’s talking to an unknown character in another, darkly lit room. In the final clip Johansson appears in, we can see her in full gear, gun outstreched, as she walks toward a group of monks sitting around a group of wires.
While the other two clips in the series of videos don’t have Johansson’s Kusanagi, one of the videos does show off iconic Japanese actor Beat Takeshi’s Daisuke Aramaki. In the original manga and anime that the movie is being adapted from, Aramaki is the chief of Public Security Section 9; the same section that Major Kusanagi works under.
Ghost in the Shell has received quite a bit of attention and criticism from fans because of the producers decision to cast majority white actors in Japanese roles. Actors, writers and directors all spoke out against the film’s whitewashing, and while others were quick to defend Johansson’s role in the film (including screenwriter Max Landis), a large number of fans were vocal against Paramount’s decision to not cast a Japanese actor in the main role.
Ghost in the Shell is slated to hit theaters March 31, 2017.
