Next year, Ghost in the Shell will hit theaters, and fans of the original anime can now start getting hyped for the film. Since the project was announced, Ghost in the Shell fans have voiced concerns about the movie an authentic adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s iconic series. And, now, those fears have been eased following the release of one very canon-compliant clip from the upcoming film.
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ComicBook.com’s Lucas Siegel was lucky enough to catch a sneak-peek of Ghost in the Shell during a recent press event in Japan. It was there that a clip of the movie was shown which depicts The Major’s robotic body being assembled. The scene, which is known as the ‘shelling sequence,’ looks remarkably similar to the original animated footage from the first Ghost in the Shell film.
If you are a fan of the franchise, you’ve just got to see it to believe it.
The footage stands at over two minutes long and shows how The Major’s hi-tech cybernetic body is built. The video starts out with the character’s head and robotic brain being retrofitted with all sorts of gadgets before fans are shown a side profile of The Major’s body. The character’s form is then fitted with texturized skin and dunked in what appears to be a pool of white latex, but the liquid doesn’t cover The Major for long. In true Ghost in the Shell style, the covering cracks into hundreds of pieces to reveal the heroine’s bare humanoid body.
And, by the end, fans are finally treated to a close-up shot of The Major awakening in her augmented body.
When you compare the updated shelling sequence to its predecessor, the two look very similar. Sure, fans aren’t treated to a scene of The Major floating in the fetal position, but the footage’s aesthetic closely mirrors what Mamoru Oshii directed back in 1995. Obviously, a new censorship details were also added in, so don’t expect to see anything too NSFW in this brand-new clip.
Not only does Rupert Sander’s reimagined shelling sequence echo footage from Ghost in the Shells‘ past, but it also brings back familiar music. The new scene has Kenji Kawai, the original composer for Ghost in the Shell, reimagine the haunting OST from the original shelling sequence. A series of drums are added to the track, but fans will immediately recognize the childish, haunting chanting looped in atop the booming rhythm.
NEXT: Ghost in the Shell Movie Posters Released / Ghost in the Shell Trailer Released / Original Ghost in the Shell Director Praises New Live-Action Adaptation / Ghost in the Shell Cast Defends Controversial Casting Decisions / Live-Action Ghost in the Shell Storylines Released
If this clip isn’t enough to convince you that Ghost in the Shell is on the right track, then you should know that Oshii has also given his blessing to the project. The Japanese director gave a shining endorsement to the project and said Sander’s vision for the film is the best he’s seen to-date.
Ghost in the Shell hits theaters on March 31, 2017.
