‘Ghost in the Shell’ Producer Says Fans Will Be Happy; Defends Scarlett Johansson Casting

 

There has been a lot of commotion over the upcoming live-action adaptation of the Japanese Manga, Ghost in the Shell. The film has been subject to much controversy due to the casting of Scarlett Johansson as the film’s lead, Motoko Kusanagi. Many have criticized this casting as another case of Hollywood whitewashing of a potential Asian role, and it did not help that the film’s first official image was released within days of the first  Doctor Strange trailer which was also criticized for the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One.

It does not help that it was previously reported that the studio ran CGI tests to change the white actors/actresses appearances to “look more Asian,” only adding more to the outcry. But despite all of this controversy, Steven Paul, one of the film’s producers expressed his thoughts on the manner as well as how fans will respond to the upcoming release.

I think everybody is going to end up being really happy with it. 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.

Although Johansson’s character was originally known as Motoko Kusanagi, Paul expressed how the film’s iteration of the character will instead be named, “The Major.” Paul also discussed the film’s “international approach.”

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.

What do you guys think about this producer’s comments about the upcoming film? Do you think the renaming of Johansson’s character was something thought up of before the backlash or afterwards? Sound off in the comments below.

Ghost in the Shell opens in theaters on March 31, 2017.

Source: Buzz Feed News