Find Your Inner Major With a New ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Trailer and Website
While I don’t typically pay attention to the box office tracking numbers for upcoming releases, I’ll admit, I’ve checked in a few times on Ghost in the Shell. The blend of intriguing trailers and negative publicity surrounding the film make it a tough cookie to crack; those who would normally be excited by the prospect of a blockbuster action movie starring a woman have good reason to stay at home, while the fans who might normally boost its box office numbers may be disappointed that Paramount is tinkering with a classic. As of right now, Ghost in the Shell is estimated to bring home about $105 million domestically, a very poor showing for a project of this size. I’m fascinated by the whole thing.
Or should I write, “I am fascinated”? The latest trailer for Ghost in the Shell is meant to tie into the film’s IAmMajor.me website, where fans can upload a picture of themselves alongside a comment about what makes them special. As far as marketing campaigns go, it’s not bad, but it was only a matter of time before a few people on social media recognized an inherent flaw in Paramount’s design: if you allow people to create their own content with your logo on it, then, well, they’re going to create their own content with your logo on it:
From Paramount’s perspective, there’s probably no such thing as bad publicity; this way, people are still sharing the Ghost in the Shell logo and color scheme even as the take the film to task for its tone deaf approach to whitewashing characters. Fans did seem to react well to this past week’s announcement that the original cast of the animated 1995 film had been hired to provide the Japanese dub of the film. Maybe this is them cashing in a little bit of that goodwill on a fun little exercise.
Here’s the full plot synopsis for Ghost in the Shell:
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, Ghost in the Shell follows Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.
The film will star Scarlett Johansson, Juliette Binoche, Takeshi Kitano, Pilou Asbæk, and Rila Fukushima. You can catch Ghost in the Shell in theaters on March 31, 2017.