Hollywood is banking big on actress Margot Robbie. The Australian star broke out in a huge way last year as the female lead in Martin Scorsese‘s "The Wolf Of Wall Street," and has immediately become a much-in-demand name around town. She’s starring opposite Will Smith in next spring’s con-rom-com "Focus"; she has joined Michelle Williams in the ensemble of awards-touted period drama "Suite Francaise"; is appearing with Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor in post-apocalyptic drama "Z For Zachariah"; and will portray the most famous Jane in movie history in David Yates and Warner Bros’ megabudget reboot of "Tarzan."
And just now she’s mooted to have scored her first solo blockbuster lead in a project that’s been in the works for aeons. According to Deadline, Robbie is in early talks to star in "Ghost In The Shell," DreamWorks’ live-action remake of the classic anime. Released in 1995, directed by Mamoru Oshii and based on a popular Manga, the original was set in a near-future world where security agent Motoko Kusanagi is on the search for a computer hacker called the Puppet Master.
The film influenced the likes of "The Matrix" and "Avatar" and studios have been attempting to remake the project for close to twenty years, but it finally seems to be creeping forward, with a script from "Reluctant Fundamentalist" writer William Wheeler, and "Snow White And The Huntsman" director Rupert Sanders signing on back in January.
We’re relatively ambivalent about a remake, but with lots of talk around of the lack of substantial female roles in Hollywood, it’s good to see DreamWorks rolling the dice on what must be a relatively risky female-led project, and even better to see someone like Robbie land an action lead like this. There’s no word on when this might move get in front of cameras, but if it’s starting to cast up, we’ll likely see the result in theaters sometime in 2016.
