Live-Action Ghost in the Shell

I noticed that there wasn't a forum for the live-action adaptation for Ghost in the Shell, so I decided to make one.

So…

Apparently Dream Works was pining for Margot Robbie to play the Major. But since she's in talks of getting into Suicide Squad, DW is finding someone else.

And chances are it's going to be Scarlett Johansson.

I don't know about you guys, but when I think of a live-action GITS, I kinda picture Johansson as the Major.

…And also Dwayne Johnson as Batou.

(Hears whispers of "he thinks The Rock is capable of a serious role! Let's get him!", machine guns open fire)

Yikes!

(Ducks for cover)

So…any thoughts?

edited 17th Oct '14 4:45:16 AM by TargetmasterJoe

I'd almost think Mickey Rourke would be a better Batou. Could just be the silver hair but i always pictured Batou as being a bit older, and Rourke would be able to pull off the look quite well.

Dwayne Johnson doesn't have the height that Batou has.

Marv looked like Batou. Just with more scarring and no Ranger eyes.

edited 17th Oct '14 8:39:51 AM by GethKnight

Isn't the Major Japanese?

Her shell is. But she's also been a 12-year old girl, a guy, and existed on the Internet.

But if it's a movie, people are going to be expecting to see the Major as Kusanagi, that's her iconic body.

Yea, that's been the stupid comment half the time when I read this.

Explanation: Not your comment. The whole "The Major's Japanese" thing.

edited 17th Oct '14 10:09:33 AM by GethKnight

Any word on whether this will be an adaptation or an original story?

Regardless of which, if they want the Major to be the main character, they're gonna have to explain why she's not Kusanagi.

@ Geth Knight:

Dwayne Johnson doesn't have the height that Batou has.

Exactly how tall is Batou?

edited 17th Oct '14 1:41:27 PM by TargetmasterJoe

They couldn't get Rinko Kikuchi or another Asian woman for the part?

Only if they HAD to; any excuse Hollywood can take for casting a white actor as a minority character, they will take.

Hollywood still doesn't believe that the general public wants to see non-white characters. (In their minds, A-listers like Will Smith or Denzel Washington are bizarre, unexplainable exceptions to the rule, not evidence against it.)

Hollywood likes to see the audience as only liking people like themselves. Hollywood also believes the majority of its audience is white. The star power thing needs to go away in the US. I think it will have almost completely in the US by the next generation and movies will be the better for it. I would love to see an over the top Hollywood blockbuster version starring all Japanese actors with all of the philosophy I love the series for but I don't see it happening.

Star power is already not what it once was, or so the talking heads say nowadays.

One inch shorter than Dwayne Johnson, apparently. Figured he was taller. Weird.

Addition: Batou is 6'4" and Dwayne Johnson's 6'5".

edited 17th Oct '14 9:39:22 PM by GethKnight

Hmmmm.

And I was ready to assume Batou was the taller one.

Then again, 1 inch isn't that much of a difference, is it?

The way I see it, it's all good as long as whoever's playing Batou is taller than whoever's playing the Major.

In fact, I was pining for The Rock as Batou since he's most likely waaaaayyyy taller than Johansson, like how Batou (IIRC) towered over the Major in pretty much every GITS universe, and he's got that tanned skin, which was Batou had in the first GITS movie and (I think) the ARISE OVAs.

edited 18th Oct '14 12:24:35 PM by TargetmasterJoe

Personally, I would greatly prefer it if they did use Japanese actors instead. It would be true to the source material and wouldn't force any stupid "Oh, he/she's just half Japanese" explanations regarding the setting.

Hell, a live-action adaptation of Kite (a rather infamous anime for a lot of reasons) was made starring Samuel Jackson and some other white chick as the main protagonist; it did the whole setting remake to South Africa and it mostly bombed as a result.

Well for characters using prosthetic bodies, the excuse for using a non-Japanese actor is obvious if a bit messed up when you think about it.

Who would play Togusa?

edited 18th Oct '14 7:42:33 AM by lackofsense

I kinda thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt would be a pretty good candidate for Togusa.

Anyone think they'll have Tachikomas or Logicomas for the movie? If they did, I'd like to see them use props and practical effects for when they're still and CG for when they're moving around. Maybe by Industrial Light And Magic or Weta Workshop.

Johannsen seems like a much better pic than Margot Robbie.

In terms of the ethnicity of the casting, I'm iffy. I mean I like diversity in casting generally, but I think Ghost In The Shell is about Japan/has a Japanese cast because it's a Japanese production. I doubt an adaptation of it would maintain the Japanese setting, in which case there would be no reason for everyone on the team to be Japanese.

Dwayne Johnson would probably work well as Batou. I was thinking Liam Niessen, but he might be too old.

edited 18th Oct '14 11:40:29 AM by Hodor

I feel the themes of Git S are universal. Loss of Self amongst our reliance of machines. Espionage. Shit like that. Also, Liam Neeson for Aramaki.

He could work for that. Off the top of my head, I'd lean toward Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellen.

But yes, I think the only reason why ''GITS" has a Japanese setting in the manga/anime is because the creator and audience are Japanese.

Aramaki's not Gandalf old, i wouldn't think. Also shorter than that.

(bring on Danny DeVito!

For Aramaki, I was kinda picturing Christopher Lloyd.

It just seemed to fit.

edited 18th Oct '14 10:08:25 PM by TargetmasterJoe