Disclaimer: This thread is likely a necro and I apologize if it is. I just have a few questions that I find difficult to answer from my perspective. Keep in mind my thoughts pertain to the animated film and GitS: SAC due to the trailer depicting the geisha scene from GitS: SAC. Friendly, productive dialogue is encouraged!


Cutting to the quick, gotta say Scarlett Johansson is not my favorite actress. In fact, she isn't too far from being one of my least favorites. Personal preference aside, in terms of acting experience she has quite the repertoire, starring in a hefty amount of movies over the years. I will not deny that she is a talented actress. She seems to have a fantastic grip on the art of seduction and portrayal of lust, and can be a genuinely enjoyable personality in the right situation. Unfortunately, her most relevant and recent role, (Lucy) was met with quite the critical backlash and has ties to one of two potentially crippling portrayal of one of my favorite characters of all time.


I disliked Lucy quite a lot. Personally I feel it fails spectacularly in almost every way it can. But let's just forget about the questionable plot choices, lack of tension throughout a majority of the film and the unintentionally hilarious dialogue (momma's milk anyone?). Let's focus on my personal top culprit for the outcome of the film, Sarlett Johansson's acting. Lucy is a tool of unlimited potential for a writer. Can you believe it? A character who is given access to the veins of reality itself, seeing the world through eyes unimaginable for any mortal. How would a human react to such a shift in thought process? How could one cope with such a heavy weight. What will she become, not only as a creature, but as a person? The arc of her mental state must be quite the site, yes? No. No it is not. At all. Apparently when you acquire the knowledge of the universe the first thing to go (other than gravity itself) is your personality. Her dull, cold approach to a character who should be anything but has baffled me to no end. If this performance translates to GitS it would diminish an otherwise striking character.


To those uninitiated to the character of Major Motoko Kusanagi, I would like to give a brief statement on her character. Apologies to those already familiar. Motoko Kusanagi is, despite being a cyborg, a fairly emotive character. A commanding grip of respect from her allies, a cunning ferocity in combat, a powerful sense of duty and genuine curiosity in the meticulous motives of her foes. Certainly a strong character with a commanding presence, an aura of which the trailers the most recent trailers lack.


It is possible that the director or the environment she performed in may have made the largest impact on her performance and it shouldn't be something to include in such a hefty fashion. After seeing some interviews, I have to say the director does come off a bit pretentious when his statements are compared to the finished product. I would entertain this as a possibility and it gives me hope that her performance in GitS could be good.


Ok, she could possibly fill the role. What's the problem? Well, sorry in advance but I have to bring up the unavoidable topic of whitewashing in the movie. Personally, I would completely accept the depiction of Motoko if she can nail the role. But WHY? Why did a woman named Motoko Kusanagi choose to be Caucasian instead of using a Japanese ghost? What is their reasoning? Someone would have to make that choice. A character in the movie said that Motoko needs to be white for some reason. It is totally possible but I cannot find any statements on the justification. All I see are ripostes of the accusations of white washing and diversity within the cast etc.

On my final note, I'll ask you to entertain a thought that I believe would have fixed these issues. Why not have the setting in another portion of the universe of GitS? Why does the movie HAVE to be about Motoko and her gang? I'm sure there is a vast array of stories that could be told with the source material and yet they choose the most established portion of the brand. Looking from that perspective it becomes hard to believe that her being chosen to portray Motoko is driven by profit and not artistic expression.


TLDR Scar Jo doesn't have many prior experiences to prove she can handle this role and why is Motoko white?