Bad Casting? Producer Defends Casting Scarlett Johansson in Japanese Role

The producer of the upcoming "Ghost In The Shell" addressed ongoing criticism of the casting of Scarlett Johansson in the lead role of a Japanese security officer in 21st century Japan.

Steven Paul defended claims of 'whitewashing' the role in the Daily Mall on Sunday in which "has seen the name of the original character alter from Motoko Kusanagi to The Major."

'I don't think it was just a Japanese story. 'Ghost in the Shell' was a very international story, and it wasn't just focused on Japanese; it was supposed to be an entire world,' he explained to Buzzfeed News.

The controversy has been a meme since Johansson was cast in 2015 to star in this adaptation of Masamune Shirow's seminal manga series, but it flared up in the past couple of months when photos of Johansson in character were released in April.

"There [are] all sorts of people and nationalities in the world in Ghost in the Shell," he told Buzzfeed News of the cast, which also includes Pilou Asbaek, Michael Pitt, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Kaori Momoi, and Chin Han. "We're utilizing people from all over the world. ... There's Japanese in it. There's Chinese in it. There's English in it. There's Americans in it....

"I think we've done the manga comic great honor. As I said, the fans will be very happy, because there's a great respect that's been paid to the manga."

Paul added that the series creator Shirow and Kodansha - the company that first published the manga - have been supportive and involved in the making of the film. "We've been very, very careful. Obviously, there's some new imagination, as well. I mean, like anything, when you're making a movie, you've gotta bring your own."

"The manga series first came to prominence in 1989 and was the result of Masamune Shirow's writing and illustration and is the story of a fictional counter cyberterrorist organisation Section 9, which is spearheaded by the human-cyborg hybrid protagonist Motoko Kusanagi," added the Daily Mail report.

"Steven's defense was further cemented by Sam Yoshiba, the director of the international business division at Kodansha- the publisher of the original series.

'Looking at her career so far, I think Scarlett Johansson is well cast. She has the cyberpunk feel. And we never imagined it would be a Japanese actress in the first place,' he told The Hollywood Reporter - and his views may also be cemented by recent reports of Scarlett being Hollywood's highest grossing film actress.

He also added: 'This is a chance for a Japanese property to be seen around the world' and was reportedly impressed after visiting the set of the movie in New Zealand where there was a considerable amount of respect shown for the source material.

The film, which co-stars Michael Pitt and Juliette Binoche, is scheduled for release in March 2017.