Rupert Sanders to direct Ghost In The Shell

A long-gestating film adaptation of classic manga movie Ghost In The Shell is now moving forward, with Snow White And The Huntsman director Rupert Sanders directing.

Deadline reports that Sanders has struck a deal with DreamWorks to helm the film, which has been stuck in development hell since Steven Spielberg encouraged the rights to the project to be acquired by the studio several years ago.

The original Japanese manga is a futuristic thriller set in 2029, where advanced technology has resulted in crimes involving super-sophisticated hacking. It follows a female cyborg police officer as she tries to track down a notorious hacker called the Puppet Master.

This new adaptation may still sit on the shelf for some time, however, as there’s no release date set and Sanders has been linked to several other projects in the meantime.

These include a historical epic about the battles of Napoleon Bonaparte, an adaptation of Frederick Forsyth thriller The Kill List and a possible sequel to Snow White And The Huntsman .