New clip from the forthcoming sci-fi adaptation directed by Rupert Sanders showcases stunning production design and visual effects with a mind-boggling attention to detail.
Paramount Pictures has released a full, five-minute clip from the beginning of sci-fi thriller Ghost in the Shell, the forthcoming live-action adaptation of the celebrated anime property starring Scarlett Johansson.
Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese manga series by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell,” the movie takes place in the near future, where Major (played by Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals. As the leader of elite task force Section 9, when terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people’s minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others.
The five-minute clip, released via the Paramount UK Twitter feed, shows Major battle a group of deadly geisha robots, showcasing stunning production design and visual effects with a mind-boggling attention to detail:
ICYMI: watch an extended clip from #GhostintheShell from the beginning of the movie. pic.twitter.com/pk2YVOkqlL
— Paramount Pictures (@ParamountUK) March 22, 2017
Directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman), Ghost in the Shell is produced by Avi Arad (The Amazing Spider-Man 1 & 2, Iron Man), Ari Arad (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance), and Steven Paul (Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance). Executive producers are Michael Costigan (Prometheus), Tetsu Fujimura (Tekken), Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, whose animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese animated Ghost in the Shell film and television series, and Jeffrey Silver (Edge of Tomorrow, 300).
The visual effects for Ghost in the Shell are created by lead VFX house MPC under VFX supervisors Axel Bonami and Arundi Asregadoo alongside Atomic Fiction, Framestore, Method Studios, Raynault VFX and Territory Studio. Here’s a recent featurette on the making of the film delving into some of the VFX work:
The film also stars Pilou Asbæk of Beat Takeshi (a.k.a. Takeshi Kitano) as Public Security Section 9 founder and chief Daisuke Aramaki, as well as Juliette Binoche Binoche as Dr. Ouelet, Michael Pitt as Kuze, Pilou Asbæk as Batou, Kaori Momoi and Rila Fukushima. Other Section 9 task force members include Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara and Tuwanda Manyimo.
Ghost in the Shell arrives in theaters in the U.S. on March 31.
Source: Paramount UK
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
