Disney Sets 'Ghost in the Shell' with Scarlett Johansson for 2017

Relax, everybody. It's not the end of the world that Scarlett Johansson has taken the lead role in Disney's live-action adaptation of anime Ghost in the Shell. She's playing a friggin' cyborg so just chill out with all the "white-washing" chatter, okay? Besides, who knows what will happen in the two years you've got until the film comes out. Disney has now set the Rupert Sanders-directed film for release on April 14th 2017, a week after Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim 2.

What else? Disney has also bumped Jon Favreau's visual effects-heavy version of The Jungle Book back six weeks to April 15th 2016. That will give Favreau more time for post-production, and it allows Disney to move up Coast Guard drama The Finest Hours to October 9th 2015. The film stars Casey Affleck and Chris Pine and is based on a true story.

Finally, David Lowery's non-musical remake of Pete's Dragon will spring to life on August 12th 2016. The film stars Robert Redford, Oakes Fegley, Michael C. Hall, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Oona Lawrence. It centers on an orphan boy who befriends a giant imaginary dragon.

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Scarlett Johansson to Star in Live-Action 'Ghost in the Shell'

Move over Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, and every other action starlet in Hollywood because Scarlett Johansson is the queen bee. When she's not stealthily handing dudes their heads as Black Widow in The Avengers, she's doing more damage in top-grossing flicks like Lucy. And now, after first being offered the lead role in October, she's agreed to play one of the baddest women in anime history as the star of Ghost in the Shell. 

According to Variety, Johansson has agreed to star as Major Motoko Kusanagi in Rupert Sanders' adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. The Masamune Shirow-penned manga has become a classic in just about every form of media, and has been developing as a live-action film at Dreamworks for years. Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) had been up for the role at one point but she's going to be more than busy enough with Warner Bros.' Suicide Squad. 

Ghost in the Shell is basically the cyberpunk standard barer, and is set in a future when a special cyber-intelligence unit led by the cyborg Motoko must stop a technological villain known as the Puppet Master.  So yes, there will be more hacking.

With Johansson on board expect Ghost in the Shell to get booted up and green lit soon.

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Scarlett Johansson Offered 'Ghost in the Shell' Lead; Robert Redford Circles 'Pete's Dragon' Remake

With The Wolf of Wall Street's Margot Robbie looking more likely to join DC's Suicide Squad film, one other project she had been attached to has fallen by the wayside. She had been in talks to star in Dreamworks' live-action adaptation of the hit manga/anime, Ghost in the Shell, but now she's out and a reported $10M offer has been sent to Scarlett Johansson. The Avengers and Lucy star would make for a natural fit for the futuristic action flick in which she would play cybernetically-upgraded cop Motoko Kusanagi as she tries to stop a technological villain known as the Puppet Master. No word on if Johansson is interested of her busy Marvel schedule will stand in the way. Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) is on board to direct.  [Deadline]

Meanwhile, Johansson's Captain America: The Winter Soldier co-star Robert Redford may tell some tall tales in Pete's Dragon. The veteran actor is in talks to join Disney's remake of the 1977 musical live-action/animation hybrid, which will be directed by Ain't Them Bodies Saints' David Lowery. This new version will drop the musical elements but maintain the basic story of a young boy named Pete (Oakes Fegley) who has an imaginary best friend named Elliot, who happens to be a giant dragon. Oona Lawrence will play Pete's human friend Natalie, while Redford would play a local who tells fantastical stories about dragons that nobody believes. [THR]

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Margot Robbie May Star in Live-Action 'Ghost in the Shell'

Although she had a couple of TV roles to her credit, like the thankfully short-lived Pan Am, Aussie actress Margot Robbie really broke out last year as "The Duchess" in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. She was a sexy and hilarious scene-stealer, and Hollywood came a knocking. She's playing Jane in Warner Bros.' currently filming Tarzan reboot, and now Robbie may be joining another potential franchise with Ghost in the Shell.

Early this year we learned Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) would be directing Dreamworks' live-action film based on Masamune Shirow's manga/anime classic, Ghost in the Shell. Robbie is in talks to star in the film about a covert police unit designed to take on technogy-based threats. Robbie would likely play a version of strong-willed squad leader, Motoko Kusanagi, who has been upgraded with cybernetic technology. The original story had her team facing a criminal known as the Puppet Master, a hacker capable of infiltrating every aspect of society, even hacking into the minds of others.

No word on when filming would begin, but we'll see Robbie in a couple of other projects first. She's set to star opposite Will Smith in Focus, and she'll star in Z for Zachariah with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

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Rupert Sanders to Direct Live-Action 'Ghost in the Shell'

Turning Japan's most cherished manga into live-action features has been a problem Hollywood continues to struggle with. The problems Warner Bros. faced with Akira are legendary at this point, and aren't likely to be resolved any time soon. Years ago Dreamworks began developing a live-action take on Masamune Shirow's classic Ghost in the Shell, with a script to be written by Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island). Then nothing ever happened and there wasn't any word on it until now, as the project appears to be back on with Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) directing.

Deadline reports that Sanders will direct the film in 3D, with William Wheeler providing a new script. The original 1989 cyberpunk manga was adapted into an anime movie in 1995, directed by Momoru Oshii. It was followed by a sequel and an anime series, Stand Alone Complex. Set in the not-too-distant future, the story centers on Major Motoko Musanagi, a cyborg member of a special unit designed to take down a cyber-criminal known as the "Puppet Master".

It's unclear where this would fit into Sanders' schedule as he has a number of projects in the works including Napoleon, 90 Church, and The Kill List. Considering how long Dreamworks has been trying to get moving on Ghost in the Shell they may want Sanders to make it a priority.

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