Will a Movie Trailer be This Year’s Most Controversial Super Bowl Spot?

By David SomersetFebruary 3, 2017Cine y TV News
Scarlett Johansson plays The Major in Ghost in the Shell
By David Somerset | February 3, 2017

Notably, Ghost in the Shell has been panned by diehard fans of the Manga series for the continued perception of Hollywood white washing, a practice that has brought demise amid controversy to some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters before their release (a la The Last Airbender, Prince of Persia, Aloha, or biblical epics Exodus: Gods and Kings and Noah).

In other cases, it’s barely caused a ripple such as in the casting of Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One in Doctor Strange which still managed to collect over $660 million and counting at the box office.

Scarlett Johansson plays the Major in Ghost in the Shell

Scarlett Johansson plays The Major in Ghost in the Shell from Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures in theaters March 31, 2017. Photo Credit: Jasin Boland © 2016 Paramount Pictures. All rights Reserved.

Ghost in the Shell will be hoping to find itself included somewhere closer to the success of the Cumberbatch led film and will be one of the many movies with trailers and scenes debuting during the biggest night in United States sports, pitting Avengers fan favorite Scarlett Johansson in the role of The Major from one of Japanese most well known manga films.

Johansson, for sure, has the resume to play character, having not only acted as Black Widow, but also showing off her action prowess in Lucy, a film which managed to overperform against competition from the likes of Salt and The Bourne Legacy, which were also released in the same year.

And showing off the movie during the Super Bowl at a time when all eyes will be on the TV should only help drive more people into the theaters, especially those unfamiliar with the source material, an audience that the film will need in order to find that aforementioned success.

There’s also no better time to drop a trailer filled with the action visuals shown in the live version in this thirty second spot, and, with the mystery behind the trailer’s only spoken words of “They did not save your life. They stole it,” this is about as strong an effort as any movie can provide to help drive up interest.

Ghost in the Shell hits theaters nationwide March 31, 2017.

Main Photo: Scarlett Johansson plays The Major in Ghost in the Shell from Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures in theaters March 31, 2017. Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures © 2016 Paramount Pictures. All rights Reserved.