The official website of the Ghost in the Shell anime has announced that the upcoming 2015 Ghost in the Shell anime film will be releasing in Japanese theatres early this Summer. In addition to that, the first visual, promotional video, staff and cast members were also revealed.
The new film, tentatively titled Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie, is produced in celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary. The movie will be set in the same timeline of the Ghost in the Shell Arise OVA series after the events of the fourth and final OVA, with its Blu-ray and DVD releasing in Japan in April. The new movie is also having an unannounced collaboration with the Psycho-Pass movie, which is releasing on the 9th in Japan.
The website revealed the main staff of the upcoming film, which will be slightly different to the Arise series.
- Chief Director and Anime Character Designer: Kazuchika Kise (Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Tansuwarashi)
- Director: Kazuya Nomura (Robotics;Notes, Sengoku Basara Two)
- Screenplay Writer: Tow Ubukata (Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Mardock Scramble)
- Chief Animation Director: Tooru Ookubo (Blood-C: The Last Dark, Sengoku Basara)
- Music Composer: Cornelius (Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Appleseed: Ex Machina)
- Animation Studio: Production I.G. (Psycho-Pass, Kuroko’s Basketball)
Though the site has revealed that the main cast from the OVA series will return in the new film, though their roles have not yet been revealed.
- Maaya Sakamoto (Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Kenichirou Matsuda (Batou in Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Tarusuke Shingaki (Togusa from Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Takurou Nakakuni (Saito in Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Youji Ueda (Pazu from Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Kazuya Nakai (Borma from Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Ikkyuu Juku (Daisuke Aramaki in Ghost in the Shell Arise)
- Miyuki Sawashiro (Logicoma from Ghost in the Shell Arise)
The first promotional video for the film was also released:
Ghost in the Shell started off as a manga in 1989. Written and drawn by Masamune Shirow, the manga was published by Kodansha and ran for 8 years for a total of 3 compiled volumes. The manga received high praise, and was eventually adapted into an animated film in 1995 by Production I.G. The film was directed by Mamoru Oshii and also received very high praise and has inspired many audiences, including the directors and writers of The Matrix. An original sequel film was released in 2004. An anime TV series was also created, titled Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, that aired from 2002 to 2003. A second season followed in 2004, and an animated film subtitled Solid State Society aired in 2006. Production I.G. have also unveiled an OVA series called Ghost in the Shell ARISE in 2013. The fourth and last entry into the OVA series, Ghost Stands Alone, released in Japanese theatres on September 6th last year. A live-action Ghost in the Shell film is currently in production starring Scarlett Johansson.
Here is a synopsis of the original series:
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as ‘The Puppetmaster’ begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster. The pursuit will call into question what makes a human and what is the Puppetmaster in a world where the distinction between human and machine is increasingly blurry.
Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie will be releasing in Japanese theatres this Summer for the 25th anniversary of the series. More information about the film will be released soon.
You can visit the Ghost in the Shell ARISE website: http://kokaku-a.jp/
And follow them on Twitter: @kokaku_a
Source – Anime News Network, Ghost in the Shell Anime Website, Moca News
