Does 2017’s Ghost In The Shell feature any after-credits scenes? Ghost In The Shell started life as a manga in 1989, which was created by Masamune Shirow. The popularity of this series led to a 1995 anime movie from director Mamoru Oshii, which became a landmark in the genre. The anime’s striking animation, thoughtful story and cyberpunk aesthetics made it an international hit and it received acclaim from the likes of James Cameron (Aliens). It was also an inspiration for the Wachowskis during the making of The Matrix.

The success of Ghost In The Shell would lead to a long-running multimedia franchise, including TV shows Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It has also received several video games, including a Stand Alone Complex adaptation and a PlayStation 1 action game. A live-action version spent years in development hell, with Margot Robbie once in the running for the lead role before opting to make Suicide Squad. Scarlett Johannson would eventually play The Major, though the film itself would largely prove to be a disappointment.

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Prior to release, the casting of Scarlett Johannson received widespread criticism, since Motoko Kusanagi is Japanese in the source material. The accusations of whitewashing weren’t helped when it was revealed the studios had undertaken CG tests to see if Johannson’s features could be made to look more Asian, and Ghost In The Shell’s twist ending about The Major’s past was seemingly added to justify Johannson’s casting. While it featured some impressive visuals and action setpieces, it was ultimately a somewhat drab blockbuster. The combination of the casting controversy and mixed reviews combined to see Ghost In The Shell underperform.

Surprisingly, for a movie with franchise potential, Ghost In The Shell doesn’t have an after-credits scene. In fact, the movie completely wraps up every plotline and loose end, so there are no hints as to where The Major or Section 9 could go next. That said, given the wealth of manga and anime material to pull from, and the fact Section 9 are still together by the time the credits roll, it wouldn’t have been hard for a sequel to piece a story together.

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Ghost In The Shell has attracted something of a cult since its release, with Taylor Swift even paying homage to it with her video for “…Ready For It?”, but an actual sequel is very unlikely. In retrospect, it was a smart move not to add a post-credit sequence setting up further adventures, unlike other would-be franchise starters like 2011’s Green Lantern.

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Padraig Cotter
(3486 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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