After years in development, Hollywood’s live-action Ghost in the Shell finally hit cinemas this past month, although it failed to live up to expectations financially and is looking at a loss of around $60 million – put down to the whitewashing controversy surrounding Scarlett Johansson’s casting as The Major.

Before Johansson came on board the project, another actress was being lined up for the lead in Margot Robbie, and we know have a look at some early concept art from Jeff Simpson and Nivanh Chanthara featuring the Suicide Squad star as the character…

“I spent a tiny amount of time doing pre-production work for the new Ghost in the Shell,” said Simpson. “These were done back in 2013? 2014? When Margot Robbie was gonna be the lead. Only spent a few days on it, but it was fun.”

“I’ve worked on the very first batch of environment concept art for the Ghost in the Shell movie,” added Chanthara. “At this time, the project wasn’t even greenlighted and Margot Robbie was considered for the role. It was an incredible rush and one of the first time I had to produce so much in a very small.”

Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “GHOST IN THE SHELL” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotic’s advancements in cyber technology.

Ghost in the Shell is directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman), with Scarlett Johansson (Captain America: Civil War) leading a cast that includes Beat Takeshi Kitano (Battle Royale), Juliette Binoche (Chocolat), Michael Pitt (Hannibal), Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones), Rila Fukushima (The Wolverine), Kaori Momoi (Memoirs of a Geisha), Chin Han (Independence Day: Resurgence), Danusia Samal (Tyrant), Lasarus Ratuere (Terra Nova), Yutaka Izumihara (Unbroken) and Tuwanda Manyimo (The Rover).

Via Comic Book