The Internet is questioning Hollywood’s ability to learn from their mistakes after the release of a production image from the 2017 live-action “Ghost in the Shell” film, in which Scarlett Johansson plays main character Major Motoko Kusanagi.

In 2015, when Johansson’s role was first announced, fans of the anime and critics of Hollywood’s lack of diversity were in an uproar.

Fans and critics were angered by the choice to have a Caucasian actress playing a Japanese character, known in the industry as “whitewashing.”

Now, after DreamWorks released the first image of Johansson as the major, the controversy has risen back to the surface of the Internet’s consciousness.

It’s unclear whether the DreamWorks film will change the setting of the film from Japan to the U.S, or even change the supposed race of the characters. Currently Johansson’s character has only been referred to as “The Major” by DreamWorks, leading some to wonder whether her name will still be Motoko Kusanagi in the film, or if that will be changed as well.

Hollywood’s stunning lack of diversity has been a hot-button issue for a long time now, and for many this casting choice is just another ridiculous lack of foresight by studios.

Johansson’s casting is just the newest in a long line of white casting choices for films that ought to be more diverse.

Animation fans likely recall the oddity of M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action rendition of “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Shyamalan made the incredibly odd decision to cast two Caucasian actors as two main characters who originally had been based on the Inuit culture and race.

Even more recently we saw, in an equally questionable decision, the Egyptian gods in the film “Gods of Egypt” played by an overwhelmingly white cast.

Critics of whitewashing in Hollywood sees a U.S. audience that consists of diverse peoples and cultures, and wonders what the heck Hollywood is thinking with these tone-deaf decisions.

In a vlog he posted to his YouTube channel “Uptomyknees” on April 15, Max Landis, writer of “Chronicle,” said critics blaming the studios don’t understand Hollywood’s system.

To that, Landis misfired. However, he did make the important point that Johansson has star power.

Hollywood isn’t known for taking risks on new properties without putting high-powered stars behind them, in order to guarantee at least some revenue and interest. Landis said Johansson starring in the movie is likely one of the largest factors behind the film being made.

That’s probably true.

So to those making the argument that Rinko Kikuchi (who is often noted as an Asian star who could take Johansson’s place) would be a better choice, it’s honestly unlikely we’d have a “Ghost in the Shell” film at all if not for Johansson’s casting.

There are critics who say they would have preferred no movie be made rather than whitewashing the film.

For myself, I feel rather stuck in the middle. I’m both excited that a film could be made from one of my favorite stories and also wary of the numerous ways

Hollywood could mess it up. They’ve already whitewashed the main character, so what’s next?