Ghost in the Shell was previously set for release on March 31, 2017
DreamWorks Pictures’ Ghost in the Shell has, today, been removed from the Walt Disney Pictures release schedule. Planned for a March 31, 2017 release, the film is now expected to find distribution through Universal Pictures and that studio’s new output deal with DreamWorks. As to how that affects when fans will be able to catch the live-action Ghost in the Shell on the big screen remains to be seen, but check back for updates as they become available.
Set to be directed by Snow White and the Huntsman‘s Rupert Sanders, the new Ghost in the Shell movie will offer a live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s iconic cyberpunk manga series about the members of a covert ops unit that take on technology-related crime. Ghost in the Shell was famously adapted into an animated feature in 1995.
Produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul, the Ghost in the Shell movie also has the backing of Steven Spielberg. The rights to Shirow’s original manga were picked up several years ago with plans to use the latest 3D technology to film it. In Japan, the huge success of the original Ghost in the Shell comics have led to a number of anime film adaptations, a TV series and a series of video games.
Scarlett Johansson is attached to lead Ghost in the Shell with both Pilou Asbæk and Sam Riley also part of the cast.
Also removed from the Disney schedule today is DreamWorks’ The Girl on the Train. From The Help director Tate Taylor, The Girl on the Train adapts Paula Hawkins’ runaway best-selling thriller with a cast that includes Rebecca Ferguson, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Haley Bennett, Lisa Kudrow and Luke Evans. It was planned for an October 7, 2016 release.
UPDATE: It looks like both films will be keeping their original release dates as Variety reports that a deal has already been worked out to distribute both Ghost in the Shell and The Girl on the Train through Paramount Pictures instead.
