Following the recent announcements of other new cast members for the live-action Ghost in the Shell movie we now have news that Sam Riley may star as the villain.
Currently the main narrative thrust of this adaptation is that the Laughing Man will make an appearance as the film’s antagonist. Despite this utterly missing the point of the original character, as he was eventually an ally of Section 9, this version seems pretty intent on dumbing down Masamune Shirow’s magnum opus.
It’s this Laughing Man that Riley will likely play.
Now Riley is a talented and capable actor and I am sure he will bring something interesting to the film. However, like many I am already concerned that this film will likely ruin much of what made the manga and anime of Ghost in the Shell so compelling.
Personally, I loved Riley in Control and it’s clear he can handle very complicated characters. In that sense, the Laughing Man is a good fit. That said, this would only be true if it was the version of the character in the manga and anime.
This is because the Laughing Man is a nuanced and complicated figure that is trying to expose and destroy hidden corporate corruption; something that Section 9 is trying to do as well.
In that sense, the Laughing Man is a more sympathetic antagonist, as Section 9 often wants to achieve the same ends.
I can only hope that this adaptation retains some of this depth and ambiguity but knowing Hollywood they’ll probably resort to some kind of cretinous nonsense. After all, Riley is British so it seems that they can’t even get away from that age old trope.
Follow me on Twitter and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii.
Read my Forbes blog here.
