According to the tubes, Dreamworks will be producing a live-action version of Ghost in the Shell. While there’s great fun to be had debating the pros and cons thereof, I’m going to stick to the usual casting speculation game.
My first pick for Motoko Kusanagi is Jodie Foster. She has the acting chops to pull off both the hard-as-nails Major and the introspective, almost-vulnerable Motoko – not to mention the physical resemblance being close enough to not require silly amounts of makeup or a complete divergence from the original character design. I’m not certain about action sequences, but I’ve seen enough movies to know that all those people flying around punching down walls aren’t athletes in real life. I say give her a shot.