Last night in Tokyo, Paramount held a big media event where they showed off the costumes and props from Ghost in the Shell and then world premiered the first trailer for some lucky fans and reporters from around the world. In addition to premiering the trailer (which you can watch here), Scarlett Johansson, Takeshi Kitano, and director Rupert Sanders talked about making the film, what fans can expect, and they also showed two additional scenes from the movie that showed off the fantastic visuals and intense action. One scene involved Johansson interrogating someone in lockup while the other featured Kitano defending himself from armed attackers trying to kill him while sitting in his car. You can actually see a bit of that scene in the trailer. While many might have been nervous about Johansson as the lead in Ghost in the Shell, from seeing the trailer, the footage last night, and being on set earlier this year and learning a lot about the movie, I’m extremely confident she’s going to nail this role and the finished film will be really cool.

For those not familiar with the themes in Ghost in the Shell, it explores what it means to be human. When you can copy your consciousness to another body, when do you stop being human? Is it your body or mind or both that makes you who you are? In addition, in the world of Ghost in the Shell, hackers can plant memories in your head and the recipient can’t tell what’s real or fake. The world of Ghost in the Shell tries to deal with real issues in a technologically advanced world.

Of course you can’t make a big budget Hollywood movie tackling these philosophical issues alone. But when you mix in these themes with a cool story and some kick-ass action, it’s the kind of thought provoking stuff that makes me excited to see it.

In the film, Scarlett Johansson stars as 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 advancements in cyber technology. Loaded with an all-star international cast featuring Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche, Kaori Momoi, Rila Fukushima, Chin Han, Danusia Samal, Lasarus Ratuere, Yutaka Izumihara, and Tuwanda Manyimo.

Shortly before the trailer premiered, I took a ton of pictures of all the props and costumes on display. Even though I was on set, it was actually my first time seeing Batou’s car, eye attachments and guns, The Major’s Thermoptic Pistol, and a number of other weapons. As you can see in the pics below, they all look weathered and real.

Check out all the pics and let me know what you think in the comment section. Also, a thank you to Paramount for providing us with a few of the pics.

click on any image for high-res