LOS ANGELES -- Sorry Paramount Pictures: Fans of Ghost in the Shell are still mad about Scarlett Johansson being cast instead of an Asian actress as the lead.
So mad, in fact, that many are utilizing Instagram to Photoshop Asian actresses into the recent still provided by the studio.
Ghost in the Shell, based on the popular Japanese anime series of the same name, follows cyborg policewoman Major Kusanagi. It was first made into an animated movie in 1995.
The first image from the film hit the web on Thursday. And since then, it's ignited backlash and a sea of headlines over whether the casting is "whitewashing."
The whitewashing debate, however, is not new.
Backlash over this particular film first surfaced back when Johansson was cast in the live action remake.
In January of 2015, about 90,000 people signed an online petition calling on DreamWorks, which co-produced the film, to reconsider casting Johansson.
But this is also just one instance of studios casting white actors in east Asian roles. The entertainment industry is often criticized for its continued lack of diversity, which goes back to 1956's The Conqueror, which starred John Wayne as Genghis Khan.
Comedian Aziz Ansari even poked fun at racial casting bias in an episode of his Netflix series Master of None.
The debate -- and outrage -- will likely continue to grow.
Ghost in the Shell is set for release in March 2017.
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