The original ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie is returning to theaters

Mark your calendars: The original “Ghost in the Shell” movie will be hitting theaters for a limited run in February.

Lionsgate and Funimation have announced that Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 anime film will return to the big screen for a two-day engagement. The original Japanese version (with English subtitles) will be shown Feb. 7, while those who prefer the English-dubbed film will have to wait until Feb. 8.

“‘Ghost in the Shell’ is truly a seminal work in anime cinema and it helped firmly establish a market for the genre with U.S. movie audiences,” said Gen Fukunaga, Funimation founder and chief executive in a press release. “We’re excited to be partnering with Lionsgate to bring the original ‘Ghost in the Shell’ movie back to U.S. theaters.”

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Based on the manga series by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” is set in a fictional Japanese city in a future where the line between techonlogy and biology is blurred. The film follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, who leads a covert task force within the Japanese National Public Safety Commission (called Section 9) that specializes in combating cyberterrorists.

Kusanagi herself exists within this nexus of humanity and technology as a consciousness that inhabits a cybernetic body. The character knows very little of her human past.

The special screenings will come ahead of the release of the new Rupert Sanders-helmed “Ghost in the Shell” film. The live-action adaptation is scheduled to hit theaters March 31. Scarlett Johansson is cast in the role of “The Major,” a move that some have denounced as another example of Hollywood “whitewashing.”

The February screenings of the original film will be held at 110 theaters across the United States. Tickets are available online.

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown