The previous trailers of the live-action adaptation of the popular steampunk Japanese manga "Ghost in the Shell" hinted some similarities between the anime TV series and films, and the 1989 manga. They even heavily implied the struggle brewing within the lead character Major Motoko Kusanagi (Scarlett Johansson) that made the original anime film one of the best in history.
A new trailer was aired during the Superbowl LI broadcast on Fox Sports and showed actress Scarlett Johansson leaping through a glass, throwing a punch, and wielding a gun in what looked like a pretty chaotic scene. The live action adaptation is the fifth film in the franchise and is the first one intended for American audiences. Johansson plays the role of series protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cybernetic human who leads a task force called Public Security 9 against hackers and cyber criminals.
Major Kusanagi's existence in due to large part to an artificial intelligence company called Hanka Robotics which is now under threat from a new enemy. The 30-second "Ghost in the Shell" Superbowl ad really doesn't differ much from the previous trailers of the film with the exception of five seconds' worth of unseen footage.
The extra footage sees resistance member Hideo Kuze (Michael Pitt) removing a part of an immobile Kusanagi's face. Kuze first appeared in "Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex 2nd GIG" and whose relationship with Kusanagi formed a major part 2nd GIG seems to be absent from the movie's IMDb page, according to CNET.
In an earlier report from The Guardian, the live action adaptation of "Ghost in the Shell" garnered plenty of criticism for casting Caucasian actors with Japanese names. Scarlett Johansson was the one who got plenty of backlash after it was announced she was going to portray the role of the series' main character. Fans even launched an online petition asking Dreamworks to remove Johansson from the film. The petition (now closed) managed to get more than 104,000 signatures. "Ghost in the Shell" will premiere in U.S. cinemas on March 31.
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