The live-action remake of Ghost In The Shell hasn't even launched a trailer yet and, already, it's in hot water.
It's been confirmed by Paramount / Dreamworks that the production had tested CGI on background actors to make them appear more Asian. For those that don't know, the original Ghost In The Shell was set entirely in a futuristic Japan and the character Johansson plays is an Asian woman named Major Kusanagi.
The tests were supposedly carried about Lola VFX, which worked on the groundbreaking special effects for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The tests were then reviewed and immediately discarded. Paramount admitted in a statement that the tests were carried out on "a background actor which was ultimately discarded. Absolutely no visual effects tests were conducted on Scarlett’s character and we have no future plans to do so."
Ghost In The Shell is one of many Hollywood films that have whitewashed characters, as recently as all-white actors starring in Gods of Egypt, and going all the way back to John Wayne and a fake moustache as Genghis Khan.
The film is scheduled for a March 31st, 2017 release with a trailer expected in the coming months.
Via ScreenCrush