Ghost In The Shell Director Discusses Challenge Of Balancing Philosophy & Action

If you have never watch or read any part of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, then you might assume the series is about flashy tech and gun-toting cyborgs. In a way, you would be right; The franchise does have its fair share of action and all-out brawls, but Ghost in the Shell uses those scenes to bolster something more complex. At its core, Ghost in the Shell is a franchise focused on philosophical musings about mankind's consciousness - but that doesn't sound too sexy to casual moviegoers.

But, don't worry. Director Rupert Sanders says his upcoming live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell will have plenty of introspection.

Recently, ComicBook.com's Lucas Siegel had a chance to speak with Sanders during a set visit in Japan. It was there that the director talked about Ghost in the Shell and how it will balance philosophy and action on-screen.

He said he hopes moveigoers leave the theater "with some philosophical introspection to it, but it's not a full Descartes, Freudian-like lecture. There's stuff in there that I think...there's a heart to it and there is a philosophical essence to it, and I think that's what sets it apart from so many of the other films, because so many of them are just about action and jokes. It's not a funny film, it has a lot of action, but it has introspection and it has philosophy."

However, fans shouldn't expect to be rammed over the head with any high-flown musings from Aristotle or such. Sanders said his take on the franchise is less philosophical the Mamoru Oshii's 1995 feature.

"I don't think that you could have taken the '95 film and just remade it frame to frame. I think it's too philosophical and too introspective," he said. That's what so many people like about it and I hope that we've channeled that into the film, but hopefully built a bigger film around it, so that people are excited in the cinema but come out enriched in some way. I think so many times I come out of the cinema and I feel like I've been battered over the head and my money's been taken. I haven't actually left with anything.I've got a few bits of popcorn stuck to my trousers. I hope that there's something in here. A lot of work's been into it. I've been in this for three years. It's been on a wonderful and exciting journey, but I really hope people love it and get something from it."

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Paramount and DreamWorks' live-action feature film adaptation of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell manga series, starring Scarlett Johansson (Captain America: Civil War), will be released in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.