Back in 2017, Hollywood made another ill-advised attempt at adapting a beloved anime franchise into a live-action film with Ghost in the Shell, which immediately sparked criticism of whitewashing with Scarlett Johansson playing the lead role. After debuting to a lukewarm response, Netflix have lined themselves up as the next team to tackle the popular series with their own non-live action film.
Netflix revealed the new Ghost in the Shell series will be coming to its service in 2020. Titled Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, the new series will be helmed by Shinji Aramaki and Kenji Kamiyama; the later of whom worked on 2002's Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. The new series will reportedly be 3D computer generated, as Production I.G (whoworked on the previous animated iterations, dating back to the 1995 original) and SOLA DIGITAL ARTS handles the animation.
The new version will presumably be better than Johansson's film, which performed weakly in the box office.
The announcement comes as Netflix makes a continued effort to remain competitive in the anime streaming space. They recently announced their acquisition of the notoriously difficult-to-license classic, Neon Genesis Evangelion.
