In case you hadn’t noticed, robots and AI in general is kind of a popular theme in entertainment at the moment. Morgan, Humans, Detroit: Beyond Human, and, of course, Westworld. The upcoming Ghost in the Shell live-action movie deals with similar themes as its main character, Major, is a cyborg. So naturally, the conversation turned to Hosts when we talked to director Rupert Sanders at an event for the movie in Tokyo: "Jon [Nolan] and Lisa [Joy] did an amazing job on Westworld. I think it’s a really great show."
But is he worried about any comparisons? "To me it just kind of brings both of our projects into the zeitgeist," he added. "We actually live next door to each other, which is quite bizarre. So we were always like, ‘So, what are you up to?’ ‘Oh yeah, bit of this… how’s your cyborgs looking?’
"I think it’s great actually because… we’ve really got the opportunity to do something cinematically that I think touches on themes that exist in Westworld, so I think we’re all talking about the same thing through different prisms."
Set in a future with the technology to fuse human brains with cybernetic bodies, Ghost in the Shell sees Scarlett Johansson take on the role of Major - an augmented-cybernetic human who works in law enforcement. That is, until she finds out she’s been lied to about how she was created. The first full-length trailer dropped today so make sure you check it out.
Directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbaek, Michael Pitt, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Kaori Momoi, and Chin Han, Ghost in the Shell will be released in cinemas on March 31, 2017
