Scarlett Johansson has officially signed on to star as the lead in the live-action adaptation of the classic anime movie, Ghost in the Shell. Initially a role rumored to be given to actress Margot Robbie (who can now focus her attention on playing Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, which is not a bad trade off), me thinks Lucy and Under the Skin from the past year may have shown Hollywood there may be more to Johansson than just playing quiet and lovely. Namely, she can also walk menacingly towards a camera and shoot dudes, which is particularly relevant here. While hearing this news even five years back may have caused some people to roll their eyes, allow me a moment to tell you why it could work.
First, and let’s be honest, being buxom doesn’t hurt when it comes to adapting anime. I mean, have you seen some of the outfits from that original film? Hell, sometimes there are none at all. We all know this movie will most likely go PG-13, so let’s just cross our fingers we get something that at least resembles the original. Not for the boobies, mind you. Just for how utterly awesome it is. This will also mean violence. This is a gritty, futuristic film. We have seen Scarjo do PG-13 violence well in The Avengers, and we have seen her do R-rated violence in films such as Lucy. If you look past the race issue (which I will address), just look at the premise and apply Scarjo to it. It works.
Rupert Sanders (of Snow White and the Huntsmen infamy) is set to direct, assuring (at least) some lush visuals (and maybe some more behind-the-scenes drama). The main point here is, Johansson will be able to pull this off based on her work in the last year alone. And if it is nerds they are going for with this adaptation, the collective nerdgasm you just heard proves they are heading in the right erection. Um, direction.
We all know Hollywood loves to cast famous white people as everything. Sorry, that sh*t’s outta my hands. It’s an archaic practice, but one that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, so let’s wait to judge beyond that until we see if she can actually pull this off.
In the meantime, watch the trailer of the original to get an idea of what may be in store for us:
Honestly, if the movie is even half as good as the original, it’ll still be astounding. And after Under the Skin, I can’t help but think Scarlett can handle anything that gets tossed at her.
Via Variety
