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What is Ghost In The Shell? 47 things we learned from set

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Scarlett Johansson’s latest role sees her take on the role of The Major in Rupert Sanders’ live action version of ‘Ghost In The Shell’.

Yahoo Movies was invited down to the New Zealand set to find out a little more about what fans can expect.

The story

For those unfamiliar with the ‘Ghost In The Shell’ franchise, the series is set in a futuristic world where technology is so advanced that cyborgs are commonplace and everyone’s brain is essentially interconnected through the Internet. This allows for instant access to information and communication, but also leaves human brains open to being hacked by cyber criminals (known in the film as ‘ghost-hacking’) allowing hackers to control human brains and change and/or invent memories. The story follows a counter-cyberterrorist organization called Section 9 tasked with preventing these crimes.

1. It’s not a direct remake of the 1995 anime. They are taking elements from a range of ‘Ghost In The Shell’ stories including the manga, 1995 anime movie, ‘Ghost In The Shell: Innocence’ and the animated TV series.

2. According to producer Michael Castigon the film is set “in the middle of the world of Section 9 and The Major. It’s also an origins story, and very much an awakening for several characters in the movie”.

3. It’s set in an unnamed futuristic city in 2077.

4. The main antagonist is a character called Kuze. He is a member of a terrorist group that features in the second series of the animated TV show.

5. According to filmmakers, the film does NOT feature the ‘Puppet Master’ or ‘Laughing Man’.

6. ‘Ghost hacking’ (the process of hackers infiltrating your mind and removing, adding or changing memories) plays a huge role in the film.

7. You WILL see some iconic scenes from the anime including the garbage man sequence, the interrogation scene and the spider tank fight scene.

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Tone

8. It’s being pitched as an “action film” with “intelligent sci-fi”.

9. The movie addresses a lot of existential questions such as: Where does life originate? Does life originate from the body? Does life originate from the mind or the soul?

10. The movie will have some elements of humour and comic relief, mainly from Batou and Ladria (members of the Section 9 squad).

11. According to Scarlett Johansson there will be a “gritty kind of realness” to the movie.

Characters

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12. The Major (played by Scarlett Johansson) is a member of an anti cyber-terrorism organization called Section 9 and is the main protagonist in the film. She has the ability to camouflage her body to her surroundings and communicate with others through brain technology (i.e. she doesn’t have to speak).

13. In this version, The Major is a complete cyborg apart from her human brain.

14. The Major suffers an existential crisis throughout the movie, which is key to the plot and threaded throughout.

15. Johansson took the role because she had “sympathy for the character’s experience” and “shared a vision” with director Rupert Sanders.

16. Batou (played by Pilou Asbæk) is an ex military man who is fighting his past. He is a member of Section 9 and specializes in close combat.

17. Ladria (Played by Danusia Samal) is also part of Section 9 and is a knife expert. She’s an intuitive, smart character. She’s feisty and a bit cheeky, but is ruthless when needed.

18. Boma (played by Tawanda Manyimo) is a part-cyborg bomb expert that also carries heavy assault weapons (like a shotgun). He’s a more silent type of person.

19. Saido (played by Yutaka Izumihara) is an expert sniper. He is an ex-SEAL and quit to became a mercenary before joining Section 9.

20. Torgusa (played by Chin Han) is the only member of the Section 9 team that is wholly human and is proud of it. His weapon of choice is a revolver.

The shelling sequence

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The shelling sequence is an iconic scene from the 1995 anime that showcases the building of The Major’s new cyborg body.

21. The shelling sequence will be a mix of practical effects and CGI.

22. It is similar in tone and style to the fan-made Project 2501 (pictured, above).

23. The concept art was visualized as an 8-stage production line drawing you might see if you were designing a factory.

24. The pre-vis for the shelling sequence was produced by well renowned creative house, The Mill.

25. The animatronics used in the practical effect moments are some of the most advanced that Weta have ever made.

26. The Major is seen naked during the shelling sequence. It is mix of a 3D replica of Scarlett Johansson and CGI.

Nudity

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The original manga featured it’s fair share of nudity. Most notably, Scarlett Johansson’s character is often seen wearing very little. So how have filmmakers approached this in the live action version?

27. The Major will not be seen running around naked during the film.

28. However, you will see her wear a skin-coloured thermoptic suit (that allows her to camouflage into her surroundings) which shows up a couple of times in the movie.

29. According to costume designers Kirk and Bart the thermoptic suit is still very revealing.

30. Producer Michael Castigon hinted at some nudity: “We were very faithful to the anime, let me put it that way.”

Violence

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31. They are using the fictional element of the movie to get around MPAA guidelines on violence (like ‘The Dark Knight’ did). Producer Michael Castigon claims that they “get to escape a lot of that” and are that “it’s definitely going to ride the edge”.

32. According to cast member Pilou Asbæk, there are some “f****** awesome” fight scenes.

Omissions

33. Fuchikomas won’t feature in this adaptation. They were “too detracting” from the main plot.

34. The moments when cyborgs’ fingers split out into multiple fingers is not in the film as it seemed strange in this world.

35. They aren’t going to use the scrolling green numbers because you already saw that in ‘The Matrix’.

Rating

36. Producers are aiming for a PG13/12A certificate.

37. Producer Michael Costigan assured us that the film is certainly “not a tame PG-13” because of the fact they have created a fictional world allows filmmakers to stretch the official rules.

38. Producer Ari Arad explained that “the rating and the choices we are making dovetail, but not necessarily driving each other.”

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Sequels

39. Although they didn’t confirm them, producers feel like there are a lot of possibilities for sequels.

40. Pilou Asbæk (who plays Batou in the film) believes that any sequel would be based on ‘Ghost In The Shell: Innocence’ as that would be the most logical step.

The filming process

41. They filmed scenes in Hong Kong and Wellington, but won’t reference any real cities in the film.

42. Filmmakers programmed their LED lighting boards with 28 key colours from the anime to give the new movie the same feel.

43. They built almost every set for real to try and make the film feel more tangible.

44. Weta were brought on board to help design the film, and produce creature robotic effects, all the prosthetics, some of the specialty costumes (including the thermoptic suit), lots of set props and lots of set dressings.

45. The film is roughly 60% practical effects and 40% CGI.

46. The cast had to endure intense physical training, weapons training and tactical training every day.

Release

47. The film is due to be released in March 2017.