‘Ghost In The Shell’ Adds Sam Riley As Villain
After years of development,Ghost in the Shellmade some big leaps forward last year whenRupert Sanderssigned on to direct andScarlett Johanssonto star. And now that it’s got a spring 2017 date locked in and everything, the project isreallypicking up steam. Just a couple of weeks agoPilou Asbæklanded one of the big roles, and nowSam Rileylooks likely to play the villain.
Ghost in the Shellis based on the Japanese franchise of the same title, which started as a manga in the late 1980s and branched out into movies, anime TV series, and video games. The story unfolds in a futuristic society, with Johansson playing a special ops cyborg who leads a counter-cyberterrorism organization called Public Security Section 9 for Hanka Robotics. Johansson’sLucyco-star Asbæk plays her second-in-command, Batou.Deadlinecautions that Riley is only in early talks, and hasn’t closed his deal just yet. If he joins, though, he’ll play a dangerous hacker known as the Laughing Man, whose aim is to destroy Hanka’s advancements in cyber technology. Here’s what he looks like:
Yup, that logo is part of his appearance. The Laughing Man is named after a short story by J.D. Salinger, and that quote — “I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes” — comes from Salinger’sCatcher in the Rye.
Riley first broke out in Anton Corbijn’sControl, in which he played Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, but he might be best recognized as Diaval, Angelina Jolie’s bird-man buddy inMaleficent. His other credits includeOn the Road,Byzantium, andSuite Française. He will be seen next year in Ben Wheatley’sFree Fireand the long-gestatingPride and Prejudice and Zombies, in which he’ll play Mr. Darcy.
Johansson, Riley, and Asbæk make for a pretty intriguing cast, but at the same time it’s disappointing to see thatGhost in the Shellis looking awfully white so far despite its Asian origins. Anyway, Disney hasGhost in the Shellset forMarch 31, 2017.Jonathan Herman(Straight Outta Compton) wrote the script, andAvi AradandSteven Paulare producing.
Here’s Riley being a man who is really a bird. Compared to that, playing a guy with a logo for a face should feel pretty normal.
