by Andy Crump)
Years have passed (literally) since anyone’s talked about re-adapting Masamune Shirow’s landmark manga-cum-anime Ghost in the Shell. First conceived on the page by Shirow in 1989, brought to the big screen in 1995, and sequelized in 2004 (by legendary Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Oshii), the Ghost in the Shell franchise has largely survived as a television property in the intervening decade, as seen in early aughts TV show Standalone Complex and, much more recently, OVA series Arise.
This makes recent developments over a new Ghost in the Shell film potentially very exciting. It turns out that there’s been movement on bringing Shirow’s creation back to theaters with a new update on his original work; Dreamworks, the studio that initially released the truly excellent movie sequel Ghost in the Shell: Innocence ten years ago still owns the rights, and they’re intent on pushing ahead with another interpretation of Shirow’s manga, this time through a live-action rather than animated lens.
According to Deadline, who broke the news earlier today, Dreamworks even has a name lined up for the director’s chair: Rupert Sanders, of Snow White and the Huntsman notoriety. Sanders will be working from a script penned by writer William Wheeler, lately responsible for authoring the screenplay of political thriller The Reluctant Fundamentalist.
These are two of the most fundamental building blocks of the filmmaking process; if Dreamworks already has a script lined up and a helmsman ready to take the reigns, then they’re probably pretty serious about getting the film made.
But will the choice of Sanders satisfy those loyal to Shirow’s and Oshii’s respective creative contributions to the Ghost in the Shell brand, or will his association with Snow White and the Huntsman simply disappoint fans?
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