The upcoming live-action "Ghost in the Shell" will be a faithful to the manga of the same title, says executive producer Michael Costigan. Producer Avi Arad revealed specifically what stories they might borrow from the source material.
In an interview, Costigan said that they want to make the film feel like its anime counterpart. Case in point, the film's cinematographer Jess Hall reportedly lit every set up in the film with the same colors that appeared in the anime films, IGN reported.
"I feel like such a geek making this movie because we are really bringing it to life so faithfully," he said.
But while the film would likely adapt the source material aesthetically, the casting choice of Scarlet Johansson in the lead character had been met with controversy. The film will reportedly refer to the titular character as "Major" instead of "Motoko Kusanagi" although her mother will be played by Japanese actress Kaori Momoi.
For those who are not familiar with the manga, "Ghost in the Shell" follows the story of a special ops human cyborg hybrid who leads an elite task devoted to stopping dangerous criminals. In particular, producer Avi Arad revealed that the film is not necessarily about the origin of the character, Collider reported.
"We're not doing Puppetmaster. It's not Laughing Man. It involves Kuze. The Kuze story. The big thing we are doing here is that we're not necessarily doing an origins backstory, but we are addressing her sense of self and resolving how she defines herself in terms of memories. That's one of the main thrusts in the story. Inspired by that episode of Affection in Second Gig. It's bits and pieces of those mixed together," he said.
He explained that they did not do the Puppetmaster because they felt like they already have their hands full with the narrative of exploring the relationship dynamics between the characters.
"Ghost in the Shell" hits theaters on March 31, 2017. Watch the teaser trailer below: