The Ghost in the Shell movie casts Pilou Asbæk to co-star with Scarlett Johansson
One of the big guns of the Ghost in the Shell movie is locked and loaded as Variety reports that DreamWorks Pictures has set Pilou Asbæk (“The Borgias”) to play the male lead Batou — the best fighter in Section 9 and second in command in the army — opposite Scarlett Johansson, who may or may not be playing Motoko Kusanagi or an original placeholder for that character. Johansson and Asbæk previously appeared together in Luc Besson’s sci-fi hit Lucy, with Asbæk playing the sleazy drug dealer Richard who sets that story in motion.
Announced earlier this year, the Ghost in the Shell movie is set to be directed by Snow White and the Huntsman‘s Rupert Sanders from a screenplay adapted by Straight Outta Compton‘s Jonathan Herman, who took over from previous writers Jamie Moss and William Wheeler.
The new Ghost in the Shell movie will offer a live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s iconic cyberpunk manga series about the members of a covert ops unit that take on technology-related crime. “Ghost in the Shell” was famously adapted into an animated feature in 1995.
Produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul, the Ghost in the Shell movie also has the backing of Steven Spielberg. The rights to Shirow’s original manga were picked up several years ago with plans to use the latest 3D technology to film it. In Japan, the huge success of the original “Ghost in the Shell” comics have led to a number of anime film adaptations, a TV series and a series of video games.
A new OVA, titled Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie, will screen in more than 330 theaters across the United States and Canada on November 10, 11 and 16.
Look for the Ghost in the Shell movie to hit the big screen March 31, 2017.
Also look for Asbæk to become a much more familiar face in 2016 as he’ll be appearing as Euron Greyjoy in the upcoming sixth season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” as well as portraying Pontius Pilate in Timur Bekmambetov’s big budget remake of Ben-Hur.
Are you excited for the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie? Who else would you like to see join the cast? Let us know in the comments below!
