DreamWorks Pictures has acquired rights to the Japanese manga “Ghost in the Shell” with plans to adapt the futuristic police thriller as a 3-D live-action feature, reports Variety.
The story follows the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime.
Created by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” was first published in 1989. It went on to generate two additional manga editions, three anime film adaptations, an anime TV series and three video games. The second anime film, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, was released in the U.S. by DreamWorks in 2004.
Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul of Seaside Entertainment are attached to produce and brought the project to the studio. Jamie Moss has been hired to write the adaptation.
“‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories,” Spielberg said. “It’s a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks.”
DreamWorks president of production Adam Goodman said “Ghost in the Shell” is a property “that epitomizes 3-D live-action motion picture possibilities.”
