Mamoru Oshii says he has no issue with casting of Scarlett Johansson since character is a cyborg and despite her name, ‘her physical form is an assumed one’

The director of the original Ghost in the Shell, Mamoru Oshii, has weighed in on the whitewashing controversy surrounding the remake, saying that there is no basis for the criticism leveled at the decision to cast Scarlett Johansson in the lead role rather than an Asian actor.

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Speaking to IGN, Oshii said that because the main protagonist – Major Motoko Kusanagi – is a cyborg, the question of race and whitewashing is a moot point. “What issue could there possibly be with casting her?” Oshii said. “The major is a cyborg and her physical form is an entirely assumed one.”



“The name ‘Motoko Kusanagi’ and her current body are not her original name and body, so there is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray her. Even if her original body (presuming such a thing existed) were a Japanese one, that would still apply.”

Oshii added that he thought Johansson was the best possible person to play Kusanagi in the Rupert Sanders-helmed remake, which is out next weekend in the US. He also argued that actors of different backgrounds from the characters they are portraying is part and parcel of the film-making world.

“In the movies, John Wayne can play Genghis Khan, and Omar Sharif, an Arab, can play Doctor Zhivago, a Slav. It’s all just cinematic conventions,” he explained.

“If that’s not allowed, then Darth Vader probably shouldn’t speak English, either. I believe having Scarlett play Motoko was the best possible casting for this movie. I can only sense a political motive from the people opposing it, and I believe artistic expression must be free from politics.”

The controversy over Johansson’s casting ignited after a petition was signed to have an Asian star replace her, and the Mulan star Ming-Na Wen criticized the decision, tweeting that she had “nothing against Scarlett Johansson. In fact, I’m a big fan. But everything against this whitewashing of Asian role.”

The argument continued when the screenwriter Max Landis suggested there were no actors of east Asian origins capable of getting Ghost in the Shell green-lit in 2016.

Other high-profile casting choices which saw white stars play characters who were originally Asian, such as Tilda Swinton in Doctor Strange and Matt Damon in The Great Wall, saw many call for an end to so-called whitewashing.