Disney will not be releasing DreamWorks' "Ghost in the Shell." The movie's release will instead be handled by Paramount Pictures, who is also co-financing the project.
Based on a best-selling Japanese sci-fi franchise, the film will star Scarlett Johansson, a choice that has been met with a lot of controversy because of whitewashing claims. But despite Disney handing over "Ghost in the Shell" to Paramount, the movie's schedule is unaffected, keeping its March 31, 2017 release date.
"Ghost in the Shell" started out as a manga published in Young Magazine in 1989. It was then picked up by Dark Horse in 1995 for a western release, but had to undergo some changes as some of its parts were too mature for the huge young audience of the publisher. However, an uncensored version was released in 2004 by Dark Horse.
The anime adaptation came out the same time that an English version of the manga. With Mamoru Oshii as director, "Ghost in the Shell" went on to become a box office hit in Japan and was the first anime to be so widely accepted in the west since "Akira" came out in 1988.
James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Andy and Larry Wachowski have cited "Ghost in the Shell" as an influence. In fact, when the Wachowski's were pitching "The Matrix" to producers, they used it to give them an idea of what they wanted to do.
Spielberg and DreamWorks acquired the rights to do a live-action "Ghost in the Shell" in 2008, marking the beginning of the struggle to get the film made. Jamie Moss ("X-Men: First Class," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes") was first on board as screenwriter, but was replaced by Laeta Kalogridis ("Terminator Genisys," "Shutter Island").
Rupert Sanders ("Snow White and the Huntsman") was named director in 2014, working off a screenplay from William Wheeler. In 2015, Jonathan Herman joined in to write the script.
"Ghost in the Shell" tells the story of a special ops cyborg who spearheads Public Security Section 9, a fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization, for Hanka Robotics. The group is tasked with stopping the most dangerous of extremists and criminals, like The Laughing Man.
It is set to start production in February 2016.
Photo: Keng Susumpow | Flickr
