After the endless issues getting a live-action version of Akira off the ground, you might have thought Hollywood would have given up on trying to adapt manga for the big screen. Now one is getting a bit closer though, as Wolf Of Wall Street’s Margot Robbie is in early negotiations to star in Dreamworks’ live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, according to TheWrap.
The movie’s been in the works for over five years (it’s a bit of a passion project for Steven Spielberg), but got momentum back in January when Rupert Sanders signed up to star.
The project is based on Masamune Shirows 1989 Manga, which is about a covert unit within the Japanese National Public Safety Commission who fight tech-related crimes. Since its publication, its been adapted into an animate powerhouse franchise with the likes of Ghost In The Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Ghost in the Shell: Individual Eleven, Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex The Laughing Man and Ghost in the Shell 2.0. Its also been turned into successful videogames.
There’s still no news on when the film will shoot though.
The film is based on the Japanese Manga comics created by Masamune Shirow and follows a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission focused on fighting technological crime.
Margot Robbie’s role is currently undecided. The actress most recently starring in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill. She will next be seen in the Warner Bros. drama Focus and Craig Zobel’s sci-fi project Z for Zachariah. She is currently shooting Tarzan in which she stars as Jane opposite Alexander Skarsgå.
Rupert Sanders is directing from a script by Bill Wheeler. Avi Arad, Steven Paul and Mark Sourian will be producing. No production schedule has been released.