Is ‘Ghost In The Shell’ 2026 A Remake?

Few anime are as universally acclaimed as Ghost in the Shell (1995). To a new generation of anime fans who grew up with titles like Demon Slayer (2019) or Attack on Titan (2013), they may not know exactly how prolific a series it is, but all you need to do is watch shows like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022) and Psycho-Pass (2012) to see the fingerprints of Ghost in the Shell all over them. It was one of the first anime releases to truly blow up in the West, earning critical and commercial acclaim alongside Akira (1988). Now it’s back, but not the way you quite remember it.

Amazon Prime Video has just dropped the first episode in the new season of Ghost in the Shell (2026), and fans couldn’t be happier. It received glowing praise when the first two episodes debuted at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, and with Science Saru at the helm, it’s shaping up to be not only one of the best anime of the summer, but of 2026. However, its pre-release acclaim doesn’t quite explain what kind of project Ghost in the Shell even is. Is it a remake of the 1995 movie? A reboot that’s more in line with the manga? A continuation of the series’s more recent projects? For a series so focused on identity, let’s nail down exactly what kind of experience to expect from the new Ghost in the Shell.

What Is ‘Ghost in the Shell’ About?

For the few otaku who are unfamiliar with Ghost in the Shell, or to the people who only know about it from the Scarlett Johansson live-action film, Ghost in the Shell is a cyberpunk thriller set in the near-future of 2029 and follows the exploits of a government group, codenamed Section 9.

While there are a handful of members of Section 9, all of whom are focused on stopping cyberterrorism, the most prominent member is Major Matoko Kusanagi. Matoko is a cyborg who is almost entirely cybernetic, which sets her in contrast to the other members, most of whom are either partial cyborgs or humans with no augmentation. She’s still a badass in every definition of the word, though, and it’s not too long before she and the rest of Section 9 have to contend with a hacker known as the Puppet Master, who has been overriding the memories of his victims and can apparently take control of any cyborg with ease.

While the manga was somewhat lighter in tone, most of the anime adaptations of the series, especially the 1995 movie, go all in on introspection and pontificating about the meaning of humanity and memories. It’s material that is all too familiar with the cyberpunk genre—just look at Blade Runner (1982) and Total Recall (1990)—but it manages to find a balance between its philosophical nature and the action you would expect out of an over-the-top ‘90s OVA. There’s a healthy amount of blood, bursting muscles, some T&A, and a good amount of cursing. By all accounts, this was the hook of Ghost in the Shell back then: a gateway into more thoughtful anime in an era that was all senseless violence and smut.

Is the New Series a Remake, Reboot, or Sequel?

All that’s well and good, and the legacy of the 1995 film can’t be denied, but how will the 2026 series adapt such a critically acclaimed series? The answer is to go right back to the drawing board.

The 2026 series aims to be a much more faithful adaptation of the manga, trying to capture its style and tone more than the film or the other, later entries in the series. There’s plenty of jokes to be had in the premiere, and the banter between members of Section 9 is present, but not overbearing. This may give fans of the film tonal whiplash, but the lighter tone helps separate this new series from the film. The art style is more reminiscent of Shirow Masamune’s artwork, complete with the retro-futuristic aesthetics, bright colors, and hair that only could have been seen as cool in the ‘80s. 

The story will still center around Section 9 pursuing the Puppet Master and bringing them to justice, and with the series most likely lasting 12 episodes, the odds are good that each episode will adapt each of the 12 chapters of the manga in painstaking detail. So while you can argue that Ghost in the Shell is a remake of the series, forgoing more recent seasons and adaptations, it’s much more accurate to call it a reboot that tries to be more in line with Masamune’s original intent.

How Similar Will ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Be to the Film?

Knowing that Ghost in the Shell is a reboot with a significantly lighter tone may disappoint those who preferred the serious and poignant themes and presentation of the 1995 film, but those themes will still be present in the new series.

One of the core themes that helped separate the manga from other edgy sci-fi manga of the era was how it addressed themes of identity that still ring true today. The manga explored what it means to be human and the ways that technology, for better or worse, affects our lives, both of which were ideas that the 1995 film ran with and never looked back, but it did so coldly. Makoto felt cold and dispassionate, almost clinical. That isn’t the Makoto of the 2026 series. 

The Makoto of Science Saru’s Ghost in the Shell is a take-no-prisoners badass who has a wide range of emotions. She can have fun, both with Section 9 and in how she deals with the criminals she’s pursuing, and there’s a certain spunk to her that makes her feel like a modern take on badass girls like Kei and Yuri from Dirty Pair (1985). So narratively, expect a lot of the same beats from the 1995 film to be hit and fleshed out in considerably more detail, and for those classic transhumanist ideas that it helped popularize to be there, but with a bright aesthetic and tone that feels more in line with the ‘80s.