The Girl on the Train and Ghost in the Shell were previously set for release on October 7, 2016 and March 31, 2017, respectively
A pair of DreamWorks Pictures projects have lost their release dates. Both Ghost in the Shell and The Girl on the Train have, today, been removed from the Walt Disney Pictures release schedule. Planned for October 7, 2016 and March 31, 2017 releases, respectively, both films are now expected to find distribution through Universal Pictures and that studio’s new output deal with DreamWorks. Check back for updated release dates for both features as soon as they are officially announced.
Set to be directed by Snow White and the Huntsman‘s Rupert Sanders, the new Ghost in the Shell movie will offer a live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s iconic cyberpunk manga series about the members of a covert ops unit that take on technology-related crime. Ghost in the Shell was famously adapted into an animated feature in 1995.
Produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul, the Ghost in the Shell movie also has the backing of Steven Spielberg. The rights to Shirow’s original manga were picked up several years ago with plans to use the latest 3D technology to film it. In Japan, the huge success of the original Ghost in the Shell comics have led to a number of anime film adaptations, a TV series and a series of video games.
Scarlett Johansson is attached to lead Ghost in the Shell with both Pilou Asbæk and Sam Riley also part of the cast.
The Girl on the Train, meanwhile, featured The Help director Tate Taylor adapting Paula Hawkins’ runaway best-selling thriller with a cast that includes Rebecca Ferguson, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Haley Bennett, Lisa Kudrow and Luke Evans.
UPDATE: It looks like both films will be keeping their original release dates as Variety reports that a deal has already been worked out to distribute both Ghost in the Shell and The Girl on the Train through Paramount Pictures instead.
