'Ghost in the Shell' remake casts an actual Japanese actor

Takeshi "Beat" Kitano will play Daisuke Aramaki in the Hollywood adaptation of the anime classic.



Wow, for real? Legendary Japanese actor Takeshi "Beat" Kitano has joined the cast of Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks' live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga classic Ghost in the Shell.

Japanese Icon Takeshi ‘Beat’ Kitano Boards 'Ghost In The Shell'

My only reaction to this is dammit, this project is still happening?

Based on the iconic manga series by Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell follows a female Special Ops cyborg, played by Scarlett Johansson, who is part of an elite task force called Section 9 that's devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists.

Kitano will play Daisuke Aramaki, the founder and leader of Section 9.

Exclusive Clip: Power tool persuasion in Beyond Outrage

The legendary Takeshi Kitano returns in the second chapter of his epic crime saga



Anybody up for a good old fashioned Japanese gangster flick? Then get the hell out of here. Beyond Outrage is anything but old fashioned. In the follow-up to 2010's Outrage, the legendary Takeshi Kitano directs and stars in the violent second chapter of his epic crime saga. But wait, am I remembering wrong -- didn't his character die at the end of the first movie? True to form, "Beat Takeshi is a bad muthaf**ka.

In Beyond Outrage, a manipulative police crackdown on organized crime ignites a tricky power struggle involving the two biggest yakuza families, the Sanno and Hanabishi clans. Former family boss Otomo, rumored dead and newly released from prison, wants to retire from a life of crime, but finds himself drawn back in as the Sanno and Hanabishi clans teeter on the brink of an all-out war.

Even truer to form, if it's a Takeshi Kitano gangster flick, you know it's going to be waaaaay violent, and Beyond Outrage delivers. Here's an exclusive clip with the stone-faced Takeshi wielding a power tool: