A while ago it seemed that the live-action Hollywood version of Ghost In The Shell was moving full steam ahead and was poised to start shooting. However they them applied the breaks slightly, but it’s still on its way, and it’s just gotten a bump with the news, via THR, that Michael Pitt will play the villain.

It appears he’s replacing Sam Riley, who was previously attached to play the role. It’s not clear whether that means Riley is out of the film completely, or whether earlier reports about the role he was up for were incorrect. The film will follow a female special ops cyborg (Scarlett Johansson) who leads a fictional counter-cyberterrorist organization called Public Security Section 9 for Hanka Robotics. The unit is devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, led by The Laughing Man (Pitt), who will stop at nothing to destroy Hanka’s advancements in cyber technology.

Rupert Sanders (Snow While And The Huntsman) is set to direct, and hopes to start shooting in New Zealand at the end of the month. A March 2017 release is currently set.