New Ghost in the Shell adaptation gets first look, announces 2026 premiere
On Friday, Science Saru shared the first teaser trailer for its upcoming adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s cyberpunk manga Ghost in the Shell. In addition, the studio also announced the anime’s director and staff, shared the first promo poster featuring the series’ protagonist Major Motoko Kusanagi, and reiterated the anime will premiere in 2026.
Published between 1989 and 1990, Ghost in the Shell centers on the exploits of Public Security Section 9, a police task force assembled to respond to high-priority cases of cybercrime and terrorism in and around the futuristic metropolis of New Port City. Led by Major Motoko Kusanagi, an intelligence officer with a knack for resolving difficult cases, Section 9 is regularly called upon to resolve cases of domestic and even international significance.
The manga has been adapted several times over the past three decades, most notably with Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 feature. Ghost in the Shell was adapted into a live-action film in 2017 by Rupert Sanders (The Crow) starring Scarlett Johansson, a decision which ignited a firestorm of controversy in the lead up to the movie’s release.
While the teaser doesn’t have much in the way of actual plot details, it’s certainly heavy in terms of teasing the visuals for this upcoming iteration of Shirow’s magnum opus. The characters, designed by Shūhei Handa (Little Witch Academia, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off), bear a striking resemblance to Shirow’s art style in the original manga, suggesting that this new anime will follow the source material more closely than previous iterations and lean into the manga’s slapstick humor.
The Ghost in the Shell adaptation will be directed by Moko-chan, a key animator on Dan Da Dan, The Heike Story, and Tatami Time Machine Blues making their directorial debut on the series. Toh Enjoe (Space Dandy, Godzilla Singular Point) will be in charge of writing and overseeing the series’ scripts. No word yet on who’s composing the score for the series, but the snippet heard in the trailer sounds amazing.
