GKIDS has acquired the theatrical distribution rights for North America to Mamoru Oshii’s animated masterpiece Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence. In celebration of the film’s 20th anniversary, GKIDS will release an all new 4K restoration of the film in cinemas nationwide this summer.
GKIDS acquisitions and development director Rodney Uhler. “Mamoru Oshii was and remains, in many ways, a filmmaker ahead of his time so we’re thrilled to be able to share his film, with a beautiful, 4K remaster, with new and old audiences alike.”
Prior to the film’s nationwide release, the restoration will premiere this May at the Chicago Critics Film Festival, held at the historic Music Box Theatre.
First released in 2004, the film is director Oshii’s follow up to his 1995 feature Ghost in the Shell, based on the comic series created by Shirow Masamune. Imagined as a standalone return to the world of Ghost in the Shell, the story is a cyberpunk mystery centred on the character Batou from the original film. Like with the 1995 Ghost in the Shell, Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence has been crafted by animation company Production I.G, and features a powerful and haunting score by returning composer Kenji Kawai.
The film is produced by Production I.G co-founder Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, producer of the original 1995 feature, who is joined by Academy Award-winning producer and Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki. Featuring mind-bending visuals that demanded five years in production, and its thought-provoking speculations on artificial intelligence, which have only become more relevant in our present world, Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence celebrated its international debut in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
The deal was negotiated between Rodney Uhler of GKIDS and Francesco Prandoni of Production I.G, marking yet another collaboration between the two companies. The studio’s features A Letter to Momo (2011), Giovanni’s Island (2014), Miss Hokusai (2015), and The Deer King (2021), are also distributed by GKIDS.
The synopsis reads: In the year 2032, the line between humans and machines has been blurred almost beyond distinction. A string of murders perpetrated by a prototype android model has drawn the attention of Public Security Section 9, a unit specialising in counter cyber-terrorism. With none of the victims’ families pressing charges, suspicions arise regarding the nature of the androids and their production company. In the course of the investigation, the almost entirely cyber-bodied agent Batou, and his still human partner Togusa embark on a journey through a technological dystopia, taking on ferocious Yakuza thugs, devious hackers, government bureaucrats, and corporate criminals to uncover the shocking truth behind the crime.
Director Oshii pushes further into the world and concepts first developed in Ghost in the Shell, considered one of the most important and iconic anime films ever made.