The other day I showcased unused designs for Ghost in the Shell logos and posters that were created by the talented conceptual artist, Ash Thorp. However, that was just a portion of the work that Thorp did on Paramount Pictures’ live-action adaptation of the beloved cyberpunk franchise.
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Today, I’m showcasing Thorp’s designs for Batou’s car, which I believe is a modified Lotus Esprit from the 1980s; Major’s futuristic motorcycle, which is modified version of Honda’s NM4; and solograms, which are they holographic advertisements seen through Section 9.
To Thorp’s sologram artwork into a finished product, director Rupert Sanders enlisted the digital wizards at MPC. “One of the biggest tasks for MPC was to create the movie’s iconic futuristic world,” MPC’s Production VFX Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron told Empire. “To achieve the vision of the movie, director Rupert Sanders tasked the team with building a city filled with gigantic holographic advertisements. MPC made a mixture of 372 solograms and holograms to populate the city shots.”
Thorp also helped designed the futuristic city the film is set in, and once again, it was MPC that helped bring it to life on the big screen. “One of the biggest tasks for MPC was to create the movie’s iconic futuristic world,” Rocheron explained. “To achieve the vision of the movie, director Rupert Sanders tasked the team with building a city filled with gigantic holographic advertisements. MPC made a mixture of 372 solograms and holograms to populate the city shots.”
Check out Thorp’s artwork in our slideshow!
In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people’s minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others.
MORE: Alternate Kuze Designs / Here’s What Ghost In The Shell’s Flop Means for Live-Action Anime / Japanese Moviegoers React To Scarlett Johansson’s Ghost In The Shell
The cast also includes Beat Takeshi Kitano as Daisuke Aramaki, Juliette Binoche as Dr. Ouelet, Michael Pitt as Kuze, Pilou Asbæk as Batou, and Kaori Momoi. The members of Section 9 are played by Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara and Tuwanda Manyimo.
Snow White and the Huntsman helmer, Rupert Sanders, is directing — based on a screenplay by Jamie Moss and William Wheeler and Ehren Kruger.
Ghost in the Shell will be released in the U.S. on March 31, 2017.
Major’s Bike & Batou’s Car
“I have always wanted to build out actual concepts and props for films ever since I was a young boy. It was an honor to adapt and build upon some of the iconic cars and props that I grew up adoring, such as Batou’s car and the Major’s bike. The images below are a collaborative effort with fellow artist and Lead Concept artist on the film, Maciej Kuciara. It was an incredibly fun exchange.” – Ash Thorp
Solograms
” Early on in the film’s development, I met with Rupert to discuss some of the creative direction. He expressed his desire to paint the city with neon lights in a new form that he coined as “Solograms”, which are solid holograms. It is something in the realm of a particle system of light that can be moved and augmented in Z space. I loved the idea and instantly got to work building out concepts and ideas. Below you will see a mix of various style frames, concepts, and final production assets that made it into the film. These concepts then went into post production where Chris Bjerre and I animated and created an asset library for Rupert to paint his city with.” – Ash Thorp
Futuristic City
“Pulling muse from the amazing original source material, I aimed to craft a look and style that would match Rupert’s vision, while still maintaining the essence of the original manga and anime. By merging physical buildings with the Solograms, old neon lights, and holograms, I aimed to paint a multi-layered facade over the city to bring it to life. I wanted it to feel as if the viewer was taking a psychedelic journey wavering between the realms of alternate reality and virtual reality.” – Ash Thorp
