Look, I love Scarlett Johansson. Whenever she gets a leading role, I am a happy guy. So, you would think I would be thrilled to see her take the lead in Dreamworks’ adaptation of the popular anime Ghost in the Shell. Part of me is. Seeing ScarJo kick ass in an action movie is a lot of fun. However, I am not as thrilled for this casting choice as I usually am. Why? Well, it is for one obvious reason…
I don’t know if you can tell by looking at her, but Johansson is not Japanese. Shocking, I know. I may not know much about the anime, but I do know it involves the covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission. That sounds like a bit of a stretch for her.
I understand they will probably Americanize the story, but how great would it have been to see a big budget movie like this with a Japanese cast? We all know the industry skews heavily white and heavily male, so having a Japanese female in the lead would have been a huge step forward. Granted, having a woman in an action lead is a step forward, but Dreamworks really could have done something here. Instead, they go for a safer choice.
Johansson has proven herself as both an actor and an action lead (The Avengers, Lucy), so I am excited to see what she does with the part. It just would have been nice, y’know. It would have been nice. What scares me the most, however, is director Rupert Sanders. Did Dreamworks ever seen Snow White and the Huntsman? Yeesh…
Original report from Variety.
