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Ghost Is A Shell Anime: New Adaptation Sets 2026 Premiere Window; All We Know So Far
Ghost in the Shell is set to expand its franchise with a new anime series in 2026. Here's everything we know so far.
Science SARU and Production I.G. officially announced the development of a brand new Ghost in the Shell anime. This classic has been adapted in various ways over the years. On the upcoming 30th anniversary of the release of the first Ghost in the Shell movie adaptation, a new anime adaptation was announced.
Ghost in the Shell was first published as a seinen manga in 1989 by Masamune Shirow and focused on Public Security Section 9, a counter-cyberterrorist organization led by Major Motoko Kusanagi. It went on to spawn four more mangas, five animated films, a negatively-received live-action movie starring Scarlett Johansson, and four animated series.
Ghost in the Shell release window and what to expect
Gizmodo reports that the forthcoming series currently has a working title of The Ghost in the Shell with a premiere year of 2026. Although Science SARU will animate the series, other production companies such as Bandai Namco, Kodansha, and Production I.G., who have produced previous animated adaptations of the Ghost in the Shell franchise, are also on board.
The new anime adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, based on manga shots in the promotional video, appears to be a reboot with a fresh perspective. The 1995 movie adaptation was a groundbreaking sci-fi release, inspiring many other anime. The new series is expected to maintain the high standards set by its predecessors.
Fans are uncertain about the new adaptation since the original movie was well-loved by fans and is considered one of the best animated films. However, with Science SARU, which has successful shows like Devilman Crybaby and Ride Your Wave, now including the soon-to-be-released Dandadan under its belt, the new anime adaptation is in good hands.
Nothing much is revealed about the plot except for the few manga snippets being part of the promotional video, which only hints at the anime following the manga, just with a new perspective. There has been no information about the release date or cast of the new anime yet.
Following is a little snippet of The Ghost In The Shell by publisher Kodansha:
“Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including 'ghost hackers' who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interfance and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers’ criminal ends. When Major Kusanagi tracks the cybertrail of one such master hacker, the Puppeteer, her quest leads her into a world beyond information and technology where the very nature of consciousness and the human soul are turned upside down.”
More about Ghost in the Shell
Primarily set in the mid-twenty-first century in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture, the manga, and the many anime adaptations follow the members of Public Security Section 9, a task-force consisting of various professionals skilled at solving and preventing crime, mostly with some sort of police background.
Political intrigue and counter-terrorism operations are standard fare for Section 9, but the various actions of corrupt officials, companies, and cyber-criminals in each scenario are unique and require the diverse skills of Section 9's staff to prevent a series of incidents from escalating.
In this post-cyberpunk iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows them to interface their biological brain with various networks.
The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma. This can also be combined with various levels of prostheses, with a fully prosthetic body enabling a person to become a cyborg.
The main character of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required her to use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain. This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their whims.
Ghost in the Shell influenced some prominent filmmakers. The Matrix series took several concepts from the film, including the Matrix digital rain, which was inspired by the opening credits of Ghost in the Shell, and the way characters access the Matrix through holes in the back of their necks.
Other parallels have been drawn to James Cameron's Avatar, Steven Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Jonathan Mostow's Surrogates.
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