Major is back. Netflix announced today with a new teaser trailer and key visual that the second season of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 will premier in May. The first 12-episode season premiered in 2020 on the streaming platform, featuring the directorial duo of Production I.G.’s Kenji Kamiyama and Shinji Aramaki.
The renowned real-kei and cyberpunk anime producers are working with CGI studio Sola Digital Arts to bring the animated world to life. The studio and directorial pairing are also producing an animated Ultraman revival for the streaming giant, as well as the Crunchyroll and Adult Swim co-production Blade Runner: Black Lotus.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 features character designs by Russian illustrator Ilya Kuvshinov, and the teaser, below, previews the new season’s opening theme by millennium parade, who will also perform the ending theme. The J-POP project of Daiki Tsuneta (also known for their vocals in King Knu) performed the first season’s themes as well.
The series is set in the same timeline as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, an early 2000s series directed by Kamiyama at Production I.G. The series is one of the numerous spin-/offs of Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell manga.
Kamiyama will be directing the anime spin-off film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim for New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Animation, expected in 2024.
The first season of Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is streaming now on Netflix. Season two premieres in May.