Critics blasted Ghost in the Shell for casting Scarlett Johansson instead of an Asian actress in the lead role -- but American Ultra writer and online personality Max Landis thinks they're angry at the wrong people.
In a video called "If You're Mad About Ghost In The Shell You Don't Know How The Movie Industry Works," Landis defended the movie industry, saying it cast Johansson as Major Motoko Kusanagi because there are no "marketable" Asian actresses appropriate for the role.
“[Whitewashing] is not the fault of the movie industry, really," he said. "That’s culture and movies getting more afraid because movies make less and less money.”
Landis did not mention Rinko Kikuchi or Karen Fukuhara, two Asian actresses who have been suggested as viable alternatives for Johansson's casting.
Ghost in the Shell, based on the popular anime series of the same name, is set for release in March 2017.
