First Tease(s) of ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Starring Scarlett Johansson

Surprise! The first glimpses of the upcoming live-action Ghost in the Shell film starring Scarlett Johansson have hit the web. Not exactly formal teaser trailer, but more five brief teaser snippets that showcase the psychedelic visual design of the picture. Based on Masamune Shirow’s enduring manga series that has already spawned a slew of anime feature films, the upcoming live-action version comes to the screen courtesy of director Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) and a screenplay credited to Jonathan Herman (Oscar nominated for Straight Outta Compton) and Jamie Moss (Street Kings).

Already a root of controversy has risen from the casting of Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg who attempts to bring down a villainous computer hacker. The casting choice has been a seen as a recent example of white-washing a classically Asian character – recent other examples of the such have also fallen on Tilda Swinton‘s casting in Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange as well as Matt Damon‘s starring turn in the upcoming The Great Wall. The ensemble cast for the film includes Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Takeshi Kitano, Chin Han, Lasarus Ratuere, Rila Fukushima, Kaori Momoi, Danusia Samal, Yutaka Izumihara, Tuwanda Manyimo, Pete Teo and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche.

Check out the quickie teasers below. Ghost in the Shell hits theaters on March 31, 2017.