Ghost In The Shell isn’t done casting new additions to the film, as a new set photo posted by anime production studio Production I.G. reveals British trip-hop singer Tricky (The Fifth Element) will be playing a monk in the film. The others in the photo include star Scarlett Johansson, director Rupert Sanders along with Mamoru Oshii, Kenji Kawai and Kenji Kamiyama who made the anime films and series.
Oshii directed both the original 1995 film and it’s sequel Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. Kawai is the man behind the franchise’s iconic score, the first movie’s score being the best known anime score next to Akira. While Kamiyama handles the series Ghost In The Shell: Standalone Complex and Solid State Society.
It’ll be interested to see if they’ll end-up having Kenji Kawai apart of the creating the film’s score.
Thanks to the GITS cast&crew for having M.Oshii, K.Kawai, K.Kamiyama on set & for their respect towards their work. pic.twitter.com/HYpq7pKb1Z
— Production I.G (@ProductionIGinc) June 27, 2016
We’ve previously heard a ringing endorsement from the Japanese manga publisher, who stated they were respecting the source material and they were happy with what they’ve seen. It seems like the anime-side of the source material is equally on board with the live-action adaptation as well. I’m curious how conflicted some might be learning how a majority of the Japanese creatives involved with Ghost In The Shell franchise are actually on board with the live-action film’s respect for the source material.
Producer Steven Paul has chimed-up in an interview with Buzzfeed reaffirming the international world the film inhabits, something I’ve been hearing from sources for months that was recently confirmed with it’s diverse casting and set photos revealing a melting-pot futuristic version of Japan (think Blade Runner‘s L.A.).
“I don’t think it was just a Japanese story. ‘Ghost In The Shell’ was a very international story, and it wasn’t just focused on Japanese; it was supposed to be an entire world,” he explained. “That’s why I say the international approach is, I think, the right approach to it.”
“There [are] all sorts of people and nationalities in the world in ‘Ghost In The Shell,’ ” he added. “We’re utilizing people from all over the world. … There’s Japanese in it. There’s Chinese in it. There’s English in it. There’s Americans in it.”
America isn’t the beacon of hope it used to be in this fictional world it’s been divided into multiple different factions after wars, which has led to terrorists like Michael Pitt‘s Laughing Man and later on I assume we’ll see A.I. villain The Puppet Master (also American). I have to assume we’ll be seeing an influx of American refugees in the process, potentially leading to radicalized factions causing problems setting the stage for the Laughing Man to make trouble. America has always played a role in the source material, so I don’t think people need to be as crazed about the project sight-unseen need to be this outraged about a American lead.
Keep in mind, this is exactly what happened with All You Need Is Kill‘s adaptation into Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise in a role that was formerly Japanese until Warner Bros. got a hold of it, the movie is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a sequel is already in development.
I think a trailer will give us the best impression on what to actually expect, I expect some footage will be heading to San Diego Comic-Con, as the film release’s is early next year and could use the early buzz.
Ghost In The Shell has been shooting in Hong Kong, Wellington (New Zealand) and Shanghai, it’s release date is set for March 31st, 2017.
SOURCE: PRODUCTION I.G.