‘Ghost In The Shell’ Release Date News: Scarlett Johansson As Motoko Kusanagi Sparks Controversy, Choice Made Out Of Fear

"Ghost In The Shell" Japanese manga, by creator Masamune Shirow, has Scarlett Johansson attached to play Motoko Kusanagi. "Snow White And The Huntsman" director Rupert Sanders also signed up for the controversially cast "Ghost In The Shell."

Kotaku reports that buzz arose around the choice of Scarlett Johansson as lead in the live action film of "Ghost In The Shell" attaching the term whitewashing to the choice. Interestingly, reactions are divided between those who think Scarlett Johansson in "Ghost In The Shell" is an unfair casting and those who are indifferent to the choice.

On their end, the producers reportedly are considering making Scarlett Johansson look as close to Major Motoko Kusanagi as possible. CG treatment to give Scarlett Johansson a more Japanese look in "Ghost In The Shell" is among the avenues supposedly explored by the decision-makers of the film.

According to The Wrap, writer Max Landis, who wrote such Hollywood pieces as "Chronicle," "American Ultra" and "Victor Frankenstein," was mistakenly tagged to have defended the choice of Scarlett Johansson to star in "Ghost In The Shell." What Max Landis was supposed to have said was that fans of "Ghost In The Shell" should only get upset over Scarlett Johansson if they do not understand how the industry operates.

It's horrifying to know that there are some people who think that the world we live in is black and white and shit is simple and obvious.

— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) April 17, 2016

Max Landis also pointed out that they should not be upset with Scarlett Johansson but with the cultural mess-up, in a manner of speaking, that dictates how "Ghost In The Shell" should be cast. Because of this, the industry makes choices out of fear that the films produced, such as "Ghost In The Shell" will not earn without the necessary ingredients.

At the moment, Asia offers no star that had as much draw as did Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Lucy Liu. This is not just true about Asia, but also about other cultures.

"As recently as about 10 years ago, there stopped being big stars," Max Landis said. "There are fewer and fewer stars who mean anything."

If "Ghost In The Shell" is to be a success and recoup the big budget that is allocated for its production, the movie should be sellable globe-wide. This means that "Ghost In The Shell" will need to involve an internationally recognized actor especially in the lead role.

"Ghost In The Shell" is set for a May 29, 2017 release. "Seven Psychopaths" actor Michael Pitt and "Lucy" actor Pilou Asbæk will join Scarlett Johansson in "Ghost In The Shell."