Not a novice to the sci-fi genre, Tony Award-winning actress Scarlett Johansson has officially signed on to star in DreamWork's live-action adaptation of the 1995 Mamoru Oshii-directed Japanese animated film "Ghost in the Shell," Variety reports.

Hollywood "It" girl dujour Margot Robbie was reportedly the first choice for the role initially, but schedule conflicts and her commitments to the much-anticipated "Suicide Squad" are reported to have taken her out of the running for the lead role.

Director Rupert Sanders ("Snow White and the Huntsman") has signed on to direct the film, however the film has yet be given the green light officially. Avi Arad and Steven Paul are producing the film from a script by Bill Wheeler, with Mark Sourian as exec producer. Spielberg, the principal at DreamWorks, reportedly hopes that that Johansson's star power will get the project off of the ground.

Named "Sexiest Woman Alive" twice by Esquire magazine, Johansson, 30, has played the Marvel comic book mercenary Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff in 2010's "Iron Man 2," 2012's "The Avengers" and last year's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and is set to reprise the role in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," scheduled to hit theatres on May 1. Between 2013 and 2014, Johansson made various efforts in the sci-fi genres, voicing the part of Samantha, an intelligent computer operating system in Spike Jonze's Oscar-nominated "Her" and gained critical acclaim for her performances in Jonathan Glazer's "Under The Skin" and Luc Besson's "Lucy." The latter film generated $394 million worldwide.

"Ghost in the Shell" and its 2004 sequel, "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence," are based on Shirow Masamune's cyberpunk manga of the same name. Both films have gone on to influence a number of prominent filmmakers including The Wachowskis (The "Matrix" Trilogy), James Cameron ("Avatar"), Steven Spielberg ("AI: Artificial Intelligence") and Jonathan Mostow ("Surrogates"), among others. The manga has also been adapted into a cult anime series, dealing with existential questions of what it means to be human in a world that is progressively contingent on technology, with philosophical themes about sex/gender identity and self-identity. It is also noteworthy for its groundbreaking animation and tour de force action sequences between humans, cyborg and robots.

"Ghost in the Shell" follows Section 9, a branch of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission headed by team field leader Commander Motoko Kusanagi. In a future world that has become interconnected by a cosmic electronic network that permeates every aspect of life, the unit was formed to combat cybercrime and cyberterrorism. Although most the affiliates of Section 9 boast cybernetic implants or limb replacements, Kusanagi (played by Johannsson) has replaced her entire human body with one that is fully artificial.The unit is assigned to capture an elusive hacker known as the Puppet Master, whose M.O. is taking control of a cyberized person's body without their knowledge.