'Ghost in the Shell' release date, updates: New teaser reveals first look at Scarlett Johansson in action as The Major
Scarlett Johansson is invincible in the first official teaser for "Ghost in the Shell."
After releasing a number of short promo clips, Paramount Pictures has now revealed another teaser trailer for the upcoming live-action movie. In the latest promo video, lead actress Johansson is seen in all her glory as the special ops agent cyborg known as The Major. At some point in the clip, the actress grapples a man in the water before emerging from her suit that enables her to be invincible.
The trailer's release comes after the production was widely criticized for casting a white female actress to play a distinctly Japanese character. Since the film was announced in January 2015, it has been at the center of the conversation regarding whitewashing in Hollywood. The debate was further fueled when Johansson's first photo as The Major was released in April. Fans of Masamune Shirow's seminal manga series also became particularly angry when reports claimed the studios ran CGI tests to change the white actors' physical features.
In a recent interview with IGN, executive producer Michael Costigan did not address the controversy surrounding the feature film, but he assured fans that it will be worth the wait. He also stressed that their goal is to make it as close to the original anime as possible.
"I feel like such a geek making this movie because we are really bringing it to life so faithfully," Costigan told the publication during an on-set visit. "We were talking about the absolute genius of the anime and the manga. It was so ahead of its time so making [it] now we had to actually understand what it's about, what it's exploring and getting to make it in live action. We are bringing things we saw in the anime to the fore in live action so I'm very excited for the fans."
"Ghost in the Shell" officially hits the big screen on March 31, 2017.
