Ghost in the Shell Producer Addresses Casting Controversy 

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After years of languishing in development hell, this spring Ghost in the Shell finally went before cameras…and was immediately embroiled in controversy.  

The furore was focused on the casting of Scarlett Johansson in the lead role, which, in Hollywood’s less than stellar record of casting white actors in iconic Asian roles, felt like several steps backwards.  

Addressing the controversy, producer Steven Paul took to Buzzfeed to reassure fans of Ghost in the Shell over the casting decision.  

“I think everybody is going to end up being really happy with it,” he said. “They’re going to be very, very happy with it when they see what we’ve actually done with it, and I don’t think anybody’s going to be disappointed.” 

He then added: 

“I think we’ve done the manga comic great honor. As I said, the fans will be very happy, because there’s a great respect that’s been paid to the manga. We’ve been very, very careful. Obviously, there’s some new imagination, as well. I mean, like anything, when you’re making a movie, you’ve gotta bring your own.” 

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Which sounds like he’s counting on the quality of the final product and Johannsson’s performance (neither of which were under contention) to take the focus away from the casting, rather than explaining their thinking and offering a compelling reason why Johannsson was cast in the lead. But no one was really questioning the quality of the material. It’ll have to be a monumental critical and financial smash to take away the bitter aftertaste of that initial decision and it really doesn’t offer any defence at all. But, you know, stranger things have happened. Maybe it will change all our minds. 

Another facet to this is that fans see the source material as a uniquely Japanese story, something that Paul disagrees with. 

“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. 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. We’re utilising 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.” 

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This international outlook meant several changes to the source material, the lead character is now known as ‘The Major’ rather than Major Kusanagi (which at least acknowledges that the filmmakers thought it might be weird for a white American to have a Japanese name), and the location, which has shifted from the fictional Japanese city of Niihama to ‘an international setting’. 

In addition to Johansson, the Ghost in the Shell cast includes Pilou Asbæk as Batou, Michael Pitt as Kuze, Takeshi Kitano as Daisuke Aramaki, and Juliette Binoche as Dr. Ouelet, plus Kaori Momoi, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Yutaka Izumihara, Tuwanda Manyimo, and Rila Fukushima. 

Directed by Rupert Sanders, Ghost in the Shell, opens March 31, 2017.

Ghost in the Shell
The exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in f...
Release Dates
30 Mar 2017-Cinema
25 Jul 2017-DVD
7 Aug 2017-Blu-ray
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