Scarlett Johansson landed in New Zealand to start on her new film but was met by word that protests have erupted online. Scarlett Johansson's role in the science fiction epic "Ghost in the Shell," which is being produced by Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks, has been called into question.

The Under the Skin star is playing the lead role Motoko Kusanag - squad leader of the elite Public Security Section 9 - G.

Fans of the original Japanese "Ghost in the Shell" series are outraged that Scarlett Johansson has been cast as the lead in the remake. They say the role should go to an Asian. More than 63,000 people have supported the online petition.

The petition is called DreamWorks: Stop whitewashing Asian characters.

"The industry is already unfriendly to Asian actors without roles in major films being changed to exclude them. One recent survey found that in 2013, Asian characters made up only 4.4% of speaking roles in top-grossing Hollywood films," the petition reads.

"Dreamworks could be using this film to help provide opportunities for Asian-American actors in a market with few opportunities for them to shine - please sign the petition asking them to reconsider casting Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell and select actors who are truer to the cast of the original film!"

The live-action Ghost in the Shell also stars Pilou Asbæk and Sam Riley.

Scarlett Johansson, 31, recently collaborated with her older sister Vanessa to recreate Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Johansson narrating the story for Audible. Vanessa is a voice actress but this time is directing.

"It was kind of a no-brainer," Vanessa, 36,told People magazine. "We're very close and, as you can imagine, have been playing around and doing funny voices since we were little so it was great project for the two of us because we're so used to inventing together."