'Ghost in the Shell' release date, news: Paramount drops first full trailer; hints at a major plot change from the manga

Months ahead of release, Paramount Pictures dropped the first full trailer of "Ghost in the Shell." The trailer gave a hint on some major changes in the live-action movie's plot compared to the original manga story.

"Ghost in the Shell" is the live-action movie adaptation of the same title Japanese manga that gained much popularity back since it was first serialized in 1989. It was first adapted to an anime film in 1995. The story revolves around the cyborg counter-cyberterrorist field commander Major, played in the live-action film by Scarlett Johansson.

In the 2017 live-action film, the story will mainly feature The Major and Section 9, which she commands, who used to ward off typical cyber criminals but will face a determined adversary to sabotage the Hanka Robotic's artificial intelligence technology.

What's unusually included in the newest trailer is an introduction from Johansson saying, "We are finally ready to give you a look at it. I'm thrilled to have been given the opportunity the play The Major and I'm so excited to be able to show you a glimpse into her world. Please enjoy the first trailer of 'Ghost in the Shell.'"

The trailer opens with the familiar kabuki-dressed being wearing an eerie geisha face mask walking in a lit-floor corridor, which was shown in the previous series of 10-second teasers for the movie. The trailer, then, shows The Major watching the location of the robotic geisha from a distance. The people being served by the geishas were, all of a sudden, attacked by armed men and that's when The Major enters the building and takes down the enemies.

By the end of the trailer a cryptic voice is seemingly trying to toy with The Major's emotions and tells the main protagonist, "Everything they told you was a lie. They did not save your life, they stole it."

This signals a major take away from the original plot from the manga, as pointed out by a report from Forbes. In the movie, The Major is being told that she is "the first of his kind" or a cyborg police while in its original story, The Major knows about her identity that she is a living soul inside a robot body, which explains the title.

The live-action "Ghost in the Shell" film is slated to release on Mar. 31, 2017.