Watch 5 minutes of Ghost in the Shell!

Scified EditorialsBy Gavin Mar 22, 2017Comments

Ghost in the Shell, originally a seinen manga comic book written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow for Kodansha Comics in 1989, was famously adapted into an animated movie in 1995 by Production I.G, birthing a whole media franchise that has now culminated in the live action adaptation due for release this weekend starring Avengers star Scarlett Johannson as the series protagonist "Major".

Directed by Rupert Sanders the forthcoming live action adaptation is gradually impressing long term fans with its interpretation of the source materials. So influential was the original comic book series that before becoming sidetracked with countless sequels to Avatar Canadian director James Cameron originally intended to write and direct a live-action adaptation, along with a live action movie of Battle Angel: Alita, which he has since passed on to Robert Rodriguez.

Unsurprisingly the above clip has watered down the source material, with fans of the 1995 animated movie keen to point out that in the Majors' iconic swan dive she was actually depicted as being naked, no doubt a contributing factor to the commercial success of the animated movie amongst male teenage audiences at the time.

Of course, there are also those few vocal critics that are proclaiming the Ghost in the Shell movie as another example of whitewashing in Hollywood, despite the fact that Scarlett Johansson's depiction of the Major has been met elsewhere by critical acclaim.