Ghost in the Shell is a 2017 Cyberpunk action film directed by Rupert Sanders and written by Jamie Moss, William Wheeler and Ehren Kruger.

It is the first live-action movie based on the Japanese Ghost in the Shell franchise envisioned by Masamune Shirow, and stars Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han and Juliette Binoche.

Set in a near future when the line between humans and robots is blurring, the story follows Major Motoko Kusanagi (Johansson), a cyborg supersoldier who investigates her past.

[11] Ghost in the Shell received mixed reviews, with praise for its cast performances, visual style, action sequences, cinematography and musical score, but criticism for its plot and lack of character development.

Mira Killian, the sole survivor of a cyberterrorist attack which killed her parents, is chosen as the test subject after her body is damaged beyond repair.

A year later, Killian has attained the rank of Major in the counter-terrorism bureau Section 9, working alongside operatives Batou and Togusa under Chief Daisuke Aramaki.

Togusa traces the hack to a secret location, where the team discovers a large number of humans mentally linked as a makeshift signal network.

In the Japanese dub, Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ōtsuka and Kōichi Yamadera reprise the roles they played in the Mamoru Oshii films and the Stand Alone Complex television series.

[21] In 2008, DreamWorks (who had handled U.S. theatrical distribution of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence through its Go Fish Pictures banner) and Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to produce a live-action film adaptation of the original manga.

[28] On October 16, it was announced that DreamWorks had made a $10 million offer to Scarlett Johansson for the lead role, after Robbie had chosen to play Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad instead.

[34] On March 3, 2016, TheWrap reported that Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano had been cast as Daisuke Aramaki, the founder and leader of the elite unit Section 9, tasked with protecting the world from the most dangerous technological threats.

[41] In April 2015, Disney moved the film's North American release date to March 31, 2017, with Paramount Pictures handling international distribution.

Deadline Hollywood attributed the poor opening to below-average critical reviews, an unclear marketing campaign, and no social media presence by Johansson.

[49] Kyle Davies, domestic distribution chief for Paramount, felt the controversy around the casting had damaged reviews, and said: "...you're always trying to thread that needle between honoring the source material and mak[ing] a movie for a mass audience.

[52][54][55] In China, the film debuted at number one, grossing in $22.1 million and claiming the spot from Kong: Skull Island, which had held it for three weeks.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Ghost in the Shell boasts cool visuals and a compelling central performance from Scarlett Johansson, but the end result lacks the magic of the movie's classic source material.

[59] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times praised the film's visuals and production: "Some of that ravishment arrives courtesy of the movie's setting, a stunning pan-Asian metropolis that makes boldly inventive use of the Hong Kong skyline, its tightly stacked buildings tricked out with enormous holographic billboards.

)"[60] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune gave the film 3/4 and said, "This isn't jokey, quippy science fiction; true to the source material, it's fairly grave about the implications of an android-dominated culture, though of course Ghost in the Shell is also about giant mecha spiders equipped with machine guns.

"[61] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, saying: "Just about every scene in Ghost in the Shell is a visual wonder to behold—and you'll have ample to time to soak in all that background eye candy, because the plot machinations and the action in the foreground are largely of the ho-hum retread variety.

"[62] Evan Narcisse of io9 commented that the film failed to capture the feel of the source material, with the biggest problem being the Major asking the wrong sort of existential questions about herself.

"[64] Brian Truitt of USA Today gave the film 1.5/4, stating: "Ghost in the Shell is a defective mess with lifeless characters, missed chances for thematic exploration and a minefield of political incorrectness.

"[65] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times expressed disappointment at the absence of the original's "big, human, all-too-human questions" in contrast to the retention of action clichés, such as chases and gun fights.

Dargis also criticized the absence of the unique setting, stating that "The original manga takes place in what's described as a "strange corporate conglomerate-state called 'Japan'", while this movie unwinds nowhere in particular, just a universal megalopolis filled with soaring gray towers.

"[66] Nicholas Barber of the BBC described the film as "conceptually and visually breathtaking", an elaborately designed and detailed dystopia which seems disturbingly real.

[70] James Hadfield of The Japan Times argued that the film missed the mark, but was better than Hollywood's previous attempts at adapting anime for the big screen.

[79][80][81][82] Pavan Shamdasani of Asia Times wrote: "The original is about as Asian as things get: Japanese cult manga, ground-breaking anime, Hong Kong-inspired locations, Eastern philosophy-based story.

"[91] Paramount released a featurette of Mamoru Oshii, director of the anime films, visiting the studio, in which he says that Johansson exceeded his expectations for the role.

"[95] Addressing the controversy, producer Steven Paul referred to the film's setting as "an international world" with characters of numerous nationalities.

[96] Sam Yoshiba, director of the international business division at Kodansha's Tokyo headquarters, which holds the rights to the Ghost in the Shell series, said: "Looking at her career so far, I think Scarlett Johansson is well cast.

"[92] During the opening monologue for the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, co-host Sandra Oh alluded to the issue of whitewashing in Hollywood by joking that Crazy Rich Asians (2018) was "the first studio film with an Asian-American lead since Ghost in the Shell and Aloha".