It was first announced
almost two years ago that
Steven Spielberg would be developing a new live-action adaptation of the beloved manga
Ghost in the Shell. Since then we've heard bits and pieces regarding the project, but they still haven't really progressed past the development stage on it. We also
learned last October that
Shutter Island writer (and
Avatar executive producer)
Laeta Kalogridis would be writing the script for Spielberg. While out promoting the release of
Shutter Island, both
MoviesOnline and
Screen Rant (via
Anime News Network) caught up with Kalogridis and asked her about the latest on the adaptation.
The first, and arguably the most important, question Kalogridis is asked is whether she's adapting from the
1989 manga written by Masamune Shirow or the
1995 anime directed by Mamoru Oshii. Here's her answer:
"
Ghost in the Shell was originally the manga. The anime came from the original graphic novel and then — and that anime, as you know, is a relatively famous, groundbreaking piece of material — also generated two seasons of an animated television show as well. And
this is an adaptation of the original manga, the original
comic book that sort of began everything."
When
Screen Rant caught up with Kalogridis, they tried to get "a few answers on some key points I know you
Ghost in the Shell fans have been wondering about." That question was, essentially, the same as above, regarding whether they'd be adapting from the manga or anime - her answer was the same (the manga). But she also added that it has "
a lot of action… lots of action." That's certainly expected, but always good to hear. She also said, "there's still going to be a lot of
atmosphere – [the movie] is about vast possibilities – all of this technology, the internet – it's about the limitless possibilities of this technology." Sounds perfect.
I'm sure our next update on
Ghost in the Shell won't be for a while, as Kalogridis has to turn in her script, then Spielberg and DreamWorks will review it, and who knows when it'll ever see the light of day again. I'm excited to see this new live-action anime/manga craze kick off in Hollywood, but right now none of the projects have been given a greenlight. For now it seems like
Ghost in the Shell is in the right hands - at least it sounds like Kalogridis is crafting a worthy adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga.
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