Don’t worry, folks, this isn’t the version with ScarJo. This one’s guaranteed to be good.
Earlier today, Funimation announced that they will give the original Ghost in the Shell film a theatrical run. Funimation will team up with Lionsgate to screen the film in 110 theaters across the United States. The movie will be shown on February 7 and 8, with both dubbed and subtitled screenings scheduled.
Tickets are available for pre-order via Funimation’s official website for the event.
Ghost in the Shell is based on Masamune Shirow’s manga of the same name. The feature, which first hit Japanese theaters in 1995, was directed by Mamoru Oshii (Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer, Patlabor) at Production I.G. Hiroyuki Okiura (Zillion, Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2) provided character designs on the project, while Kazunori Ito (Patlabor, Urusei Yatsura) wrote the screenplay.
Funimation describes the movie as:
In the year 2029, cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master”—a mysterious and threatening computer virus is capable of infiltrating human hosts. Working closely with her fellow agents from Section 9, the Major embarks on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.
The feature first hit Japanese theaters in November 1995. Manga Entertainment released the title in North America on June 18, 1996, on VHS. The feature quickly became a pop culture phenomenon, becoming the first anime film to take the #1 spot in the Billboard sales charts. The DVD version would come two years later, in 1998, courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment. Manga released the film on Blu-Ray in 2009, which was followed by a remastered release by Anchor Bay that hit stores in 2014 (and was re-released in 2016).
Last year, Lionsgate acquired Anchor Bay. The company is now planning its own Blu-Ray release, which will hit retailers on March 7.
Paramount Pictures is currently producing a live-action Ghost in the Shell film, which stars Scarlett Johansson. The feature will open in theaters across the globe starting March 31.
Source: Funimation (Press Release)
