It’s been a few years now since Hollywood took a sudden interest in adapting anime films as live-action blockbusters. At the time, both Akira and Ghost in the Shell were among the properties being lined up for big budget adaptations, but these projects seemed to fade with time, eventually being relegated to development hell. With the arrival of a new year, however, it seems that one of those projects is about to get a fresh start. Last January DreamWorks hired Rupert Sanders (Snow White And The Huntsman) to direct the film, but they had not yet nailed down a cast. Now this week they have landed arguably the biggest female star on the planet for the lead role and I’d say this project has become a pretty big deal.

According to Variety, Scarlett Johansson has officially signed on to star in Ghost in the Shell for DreamWorks Pictures. Deadline reported a few months ago that they had offered her $10 million to take on the lead role although it’s unclear if that’s the deal she agreed to. This was only after Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) supposedly dropped out of negotiations for the film.

There’s no question that Johansson is a much bigger name and she has also proven herself to be a bankable and capable action star (Lucy made $458 million worldwide). However, that also puts much higher expectations on the project and it could explain why Paramount is reportedly contemplating coming on board as co-producer and financier. Rupert Sanders will direct from a script written by Bill Wheeler (The Hoax, The Cape). Are you excited to see a live-action Ghost in the Shell movie?