Contrary to online speculation, Paramount Pictures is currently holding fire on releasing new footage for Ghost in the Shell, but that hasn’t stopped the studio from stoking the embers of excitement with mind-bending viral videos.
Designed to be similar to those promos that booted online late last year, the latest, all-too-brief snippet hails from Paramount’s official YouTube page bearing the ominous caption: “They did not save her life; they stole it.” They are, of course, referring to Major Motoko Kusanagi, the kick-ass synthetic to be played by Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell. She’s a one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid and the flagship product of Hanka Robotics, the conglomerate that deploys Johansson and the remainder of Section 9 to clean up the city’s crime-ridden streets. Up above, you’ll see the ways in which the Digital Mind promo blurs the line between human and machine.
In tandem with the media dump, a new – and downright striking – international poster for Ghost in the Shell has also found its way online. It places The Major front and center, seen alongside Batou (Pilou Asbæk) and Daisuke Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano). Other cast members on board for Rupert Sanders’ live-action remake include Michael Pitt, Beat Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara and Tuwanda Manyimo.
Ghost in the Shell boots online on March 31st, 2017. It’s one of many live-action manga adaptations in the works, too. Death Note, for instance, has set up shop at Netflix under the watchful eye of The Guest‘s Adam Wingard, while Alita: Battle Angel has brought together an all-star cast in anticipation of its launch in 2018. Reports suggest an Attack on Titan movie is also kicking around at Warner Bros., but we’re yet to receive official confirmation from either WB or Kodansha, the manga publisher behind the property.
