A live-action movie adaptation of Ghost in the Shell is on the way, as you may have heard, and excitement levels vary from person to person after the controversial casting of Scarlett Johansson in the lead role.

But anyone who’s a fan of movies—no matter what their thoughts on this movie happen to be—appreciates the use of practical effects, and Ghost in the Shell has some incredible ones. Mythbusters star Adam Savage and his Tested YouTube channel paid a visit to the special effects masters over at Weta Workshop recently, where he was shown some of the work they created for Ghost in the Shell. More specifically, the robot geisha. A great deal of work went into creating them, and there’s a phenomenal amount of detail to appreciate. This video alone doubles my interest in the movie simply knowing they went this route over digital effects when possible.

You can see what Weta built in the video below.

SYNOPSIS:

Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “GHOST IN THE SHELL” follows 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 Hanka Robotic¹s advancements in cyber technology.

The movie is directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman), and starring alongside Johansson is Pilou Asbæk, Michael Pitt, Juliette Binoche, and Takeshi Kitano.

You can find more including trailers and TV spots right here.

Ghost in the Shell will be released at the end of this month on March 31st.

Video

Adam Savage visits Weta Workshop to get up close with some of the practical props the effects studio made for the upcoming film Ghost in the Shell. Weta Workshop’s Richard Taylor shows Adam the mechanical geisha masks and animatronic puppets his team created, and how Weta Workshop used new fabrication and design technologies to make these props possible.

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