Pride, prejudice, and now cyberpunk?
Earlier this week, entertainment publication Variety reported that Sam Riley (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) will play the role of antagonist Laughing Man in Dreamworks’s upcoming Ghost in the Shell film. Riley joins Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, The Avengers) and Pilou Asbæk (Lucy, Game of Thrones), who were cast as Major Kusanagi and Batou, respectively.
Variety describes the film as follows:
The story follows the exploits of a female member of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission’s covert ops unit, which specializes in fighting technology-related crime.
The live-action Ghost in the Shell movie was greenlit for production in January. Disney will finance the feature, which begins filming next year. Paramount is co-producing the project in exchange for distribution rights in international markets.
Ghost in the Shell‘s script was written by William Wheeler (The Hoax) and Jamie Moss (Street Kings). Straight Outta Compton writer Jonathan Herman was pulled onto the team to rewrite.
Ari Arad, Avi Arad and Steven Paul are attached as producers on the project. Michael Costigan, Jeffrey Silver, Tetsu Fujimura and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa will serve as executive producers. Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) was tapped to direct.
As of press time, Ghost in the Shell is scheduled for a March 31, 2017 première.
Source: Variety
