Rage Against The Machine

More than 20 years after the epochal anime influenced a generation of American filmmakers, Ghost In the shell is back to teach modern Hollywood a thing or two about dark, adult cyberpunk. Total Film meets Scarlett Johansson and director Rupert Sanders to discuss philosophy, casting controversies and an uncompromising reimagining of a genre classic.

- Jordan Farley

Just agreeing to do Ghost In The Shell, I put the noose around my neck,” laughs Rupert Sanders. The Snow White And The Huntsman director is joking (we hope), but there’s a kernel of truth to the sentiment. It’s January 2017, and in less than three months, Sanders’ name will forever be emblazoned on an American remake of the revered ’95 anime that James Cameron called “a stunning work of speculative fiction” and “the first truly adult animation to reach a level of literary and visual excellence”. No pressure, then. But if anyone knows about expectations, it’s Sanders. “The biggest fear was that people who know the anime will go, ‘It’s shit.’ That kept me awake all night, because I was one of those people.”

Taking the briefest of respites from the film’s intense post-production schedule, Sanders is speaking over the phone while en route to present Ghost In The Shell’s more-or-less-finished score to studio execs for the first time. Footage shown at a recent Japanese fan event included an impressive, shot-for-shot recreation of the anime’s attention grabbing ‘shelling’ sequence, featuring a new composition of Kenji Kawai’s bone-tingling title track. While Sanders can’t confirm if the percussive piece will make the final cut, he vows to “honour [Kawai] some way in the score”.