Young and the Restless reveals things take a turn for crazy Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk), and she ends up in handcuffs after stabbing Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters) with a syringe full of some sort of deadly toxin. So, Patty intended that syringe to kill Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman).

And now instead we’re going to see Diane winding up fighting for her life. And with this arrest, things are looking bad for Patty and she might make a drastic move to save herself and throw Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) under the bus.

Young and the Restless: Patty’s Capture and Diane’s Poison

All right, so if you haven’t seen all of this this week, we’ve got Diane. She was up at the hospital with Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) and Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland) and they’ve been waiting at his bedside for Jack to wake up. And then Traci stepped out and Diane and Kyle left to run home to get Jack some clothes while he was off having some scans done. And that’s when Patty snuck around the guard that Kyle hired.

Patty was dressed as a nurse and she had a lethal injection in her pocket ready to go. And she was talking crazy to an unconscious Jack, saying that he has to die. Because he chose Diane over her yet again. And as she told Dr. Laurence Markham (Jere Burns) she’s got to kill Jack before he wakes up because he will tell the cops that she stabbed him.

So, Patty’s plan to frame Diane was going great. Because DA Christine Williams (Lauralee Bell) and Detective Burrow (Matt Cohen) are grossly incompetent. They never even questioned Kyle, who has a very strong alibi for Diane. And they took it at face value that Dr. Markham keeping Diane locked in his house with barred windows was appropriate psychological treatment.

So, Patty’s ready to inject Jack’s IV with something that’ll kill him. Then the guard opened the door, assumed Patty was a real nurse, and asked how Jack’s doing. That’s when Patty tells him Jack cheated death, which is true. Because Patty was literally about to put Jack down. So, Patty’s annoyed, she’s interrupted and she leaves Jack’s room.

Kyle & Diane Chase Patty Down on Y&R

And then Patty sees Diane and Kyle. So she runs off down the hall trying to escape. But they see her and Kyle yells for the guard to go after Patty. Meanwhile, Kyle goes to check on Jack and he calls Detective Burrow. And we also have Kyle very worried that Patty’s going to try to kill his mom. Because she takes off after her. And we’re going to see Diane catch up to Patty and she’s choking her out, which is an appropriate response. But then Patty jams the syringe into Diane’s neck.

So, the cops and the guard show up, they catch Patty, they arrest her on the US Thursday episode, and Detective Burrow is there, he’s arresting Patty, and then Kyle scoops up Diane and rushes off to get her medical attention. At the same time, we have Jack finally waking up with Traci at his side.

Jack remembers Patty stabbing him and he tells Traci and of course, they all knew that’s what happened. But the DA and the detective are dopes. So, Traci tells Jack that Patty’s blaming Diane for the stabbing and his wife was even arrested for it. And Tracy tells Jack now that he’s awake, he can tell the police about Patty and that’ll exonerate Diane.

Young and Restless: Diane Proven Right

However, neither Traci nor Jack know that Patty just jammed a syringe full of some toxin into Diane’s neck. And now she’s fighting for her life. First, Jack was near death and now Diane may have the same fate. Meanwhile, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) still blind and Josh Griffith is still writing badly and we’ve got him until October.

So, with Patty still clearly insane and dangerous, Christine looks like an idiot. She’ll have to drop the charges against Diane. So, the truth’s coming out. That means Dr. Markham’s going to be in trouble and may also face arrest because it’s clear that Patty and the shrink were lying and Diane was telling the truth all along. But nobody listened.

Victor’s Involvement and Consequences on Y&R

So, I fully expect Dr. Markham to roll over on Patty and blame her for everything that he did. And from there, if Dr. Markham throws Patty under the bus, she might pay it forward and throw Victor right under the bus. And at this point, Patty’s looking at life in prison or in the psych hospital.

One of those is a much better option. So, I think Patty may tell cops the truth that Victor hired her and brought her back to Genoa City and that he paid Patty to ruin Jack and Diane’s marriage. First by kidnapping Jack, stashing him on the yacht that, you know, Victor paid for. And according to Patty, Victor was the one who drugged the liquor. So, he paid a psycho to kidnap Jack, then drugged him into being sexually assaulted. That is a whole lot of crimes.

And DA Christine knows exactly what kind of vendetta that Victor has against Jack and has had for many years. So, the truth could get Victor charged with several felonies. But Patty could even kick it up a notch and lie and say that Victor paid her to kill Jack. She has that bag of cash that could be traced back to Victor.

Young and the Restless Spoiler: Victor & Nikki’s Marriage Faces Ultimate Test

There’s a Y&R summer spoiler that says Victor and Nikki’s marriage is tested like never before. I don’t think that’s about the blindness. It could be about what happens to Jack. So, if Patty rolls over on Victor and tells the truth about their arrangement or lies and says he paid her to murder Jack in addition to all that, it’s going to get bad for Victor, not only with the police. But also with his family and especially with Nikki.

And honestly, Victor’s horrible for doing all that he did, bringing psycho Patty back. Victor knew when he brought Patty to town, she’s fixated on Jack. She’s violent, homicidal and capable of anything. Heck, Victor might have been actually hoping that Patty would kill Jack. So, Dr. Markham could conspire with Patty and they decide to blame Victor for everything they did.

They could say he paid them for all of it. Plus, we actually don’t know if Victor was financing this. Because Patty was paying Dr. Markham to keep Diane at his house and that was supposed to be long-term that he was going to keep Diane and Patty doesn’t have that kind of money. So yeah, there’s a chance that Victor was more deeply involved than has been revealed yet on Young and the Restless.

Victor is Ruthless on Y&R

He might have bankrolled Diane’s kidnapping as well. At a bare minimum, Victor did pay Patty to kidnap Jack and Victor drugged the liquor knowing bad things would come of it. So, that bag of cash could be hard proof of his involvement with Patty. I’m sure Victor had to go to a bank to get all that cash.

And Christine at this point might love the chance to take Victor down after he had Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) give Christine that fake evidence that was used against Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) and Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) and then turned out to be bad. That’s another embarrassment for Christine as DA. And now her arresting Diane made her look really foolish. So, if Patty implicates Victor, yeah, we could see Christine so annoyed that he made her look like an idiot twice that she’s got no problem charging Victor and tossing Patty back in the psych ward and probably charging Dr. Markham, too.

Even if Patty lies and says that Victor paid her to kill Jack, all the rest of it is true. And once Nikki finds out Patty stabbed Jack, I’m certain that she’s going to lose it on Victor. And the other Newmans might not be able to look past what Victor did this time since Jack almost died and Diane is on the brink of death soon.

Victor has gotten away with way too much for way too long. So maybe, just maybe, Josh Griffith wrote some comeuppance for Victor where he finally faces some consequences for all the bad deeds he’s done to Jack over the last few months. We’ll see. Fingers crossed. But it would be amazing if Patty dimed out Victor for paying her to do these foul things to Jack and Diane.

Days of Our Lives teases as Xander Cook Kiriakis (Paul Telfer) and Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) are getting along because he is concerned about Holly Jonas (Ashley Puzemis) and what role EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) might have played in Holly’s poisoning and illness.

So, he’s helping out. And soon, we’re also going to see Sarah getting closer to Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) emotionally. But then Sarah has an intense interaction with Xander that’s romantic.

Our leaker let us in on some good stuff about what is coming for Sarah and Xander, including a confirmed reunion and remarriage. So, there is a happily ever after ahead and we’ll talk about when and how.

Days of Our Lives: Xander’s Messy Love Triangle

So, here’s some stuff happening in the days ahead and then down the road. According to our leaker, who by the way has a great track record. They are the one who told me that Rachel Black (Lorelei Olivia Mote) shot EJ six full months before this even aired on Days of Our Lives. NBC was pretty ticked at me about revealing it. And if you remember, I shared that leak with all of you.

So, they have a good track record. So, now let’s talk about Xander’s current messy love life. He has been rolling in the sheets with Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk). And Gwen Rizczech’s (Emily O’Brien) heart is broken even though she initially bought Xander and Kristen’s lies when she caught them together at the Salem Inn. But now that Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) wrote Gwen a reality check and confirmed yes, Xander and Kristen are bed buddies.

Gwen Loses it on DOOL

Gwen’s in a rage. She tried to yank out Kristen’s skanky hair. And our leaker said that after this, Xander and Gwen are done for good. It is over. And I keep wondering if she’s going to rebound with Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier), who’s also got an achy, breaky heart right now. Gwen might want to rub it in Xander’s face that she’s hooking up with his brother.

But honestly, if Gwen got with Philip, I doubt Xander would blink twice. Our leaker said that they are not sure what Days of Our Lives has planned for Gwen next, only to say that she is totally out of Xander’s orbit. And there is no sign that it’s going to change ever, much less anytime soon. So, Gwen and Xander seem over and done forever according to our leaker and all the red flags we’re seeing right now on the soap.

Days of our Lives: Kristen & Xander Aren’t Going Anywhere

As for Kristen and Xander, that is never going to turn into anything emotional or serious. The leaker told us that Kristen and Xander is just saucy, campy, fun, and what he’s doing with Kristen is going to set the stage for Xander and Sarah to reunite and actually be stronger than ever. And of course, it does bother her that Xander’s in bed with Kristen, who drugged her and stole months of Sarah’s life by stashing her on that remote DiMera Island after kidnapping her.

And there was the whole Sarah mask thing. But we know that in coming weeks, Sarah and Brady Black keep getting closer. Sarah is relying on him to help her with the Coriseal mess as they try and figure out if EJ is responsible for Destiny and Chloe’s deaths and for Holly’s poisoning. But this drama also opened the door for Sarah to go to Xander looking for help, which is keeping him right in her orbit.

Brady Professes His Love to Sarah on Days

We’ll have Brady telling Sarah that he loves her this summer. And unsurprisingly, she tells Brady that she loves him, too. Now, we also heard a while back that he was going to propose to Sarah. Now, we’ll see if that manifests or not, but we’ve been hearing rumors of that for a while. But even if Brady does propose, I doubt Sarah says yes to him. And our leaker said that Brady misreads Sarah’s intent when they swap “I love yous.”

For Brady, he’s head over heels in love with Sarah. And when Brady tells Sarah, “I love you,” to him, this is very serious. What he means is, “I love you and I’m in love with you, and I want us to be together always.” But for Sarah, it’s something else. It’s more like she’s rebounding from Xander, who Sarah knows is the great love of her life, but she has these fundamental issues with the life choices that Xander makes and with his temper.

But still, Sarah certainly has some affection for Brady. They’re sleeping together. They’re dating. But I don’t think Sarah’s thinking, “Wow, this is the guy I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with.” She’s got love and affection for Brady. But Sarah is not in love with Brady. Unfortunately, he is in way deeper emotionally with Sarah than she is with him.

Days of Our Lives: Xander and Sarah’s Future

Also, there’s a blink and miss it scene in the long summer promo where Xander and Sarah are nose to nose and about to lock lips. But with no context, it’s hard to say if Xander’s kissing Sarah before or after she and Brady swap “I love yous.” I suspect that comes after. And in that same section of the summer promo, right after the Xander Sarah kissing scene, we have Xander talking to Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) in one of his therapy sessions.

So, I will say Xander has done heavy lifting in therapy, dealing with his anger management and just being a better man in general. Like when Marlena told him that she would dump him as her therapist if Xander kept pursuing the lawsuit against Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman) for Bonnie Kiriakis’ (Judi Evans) plagiarized dirty book. And true to his word, Xander dropped the lawsuit even though that could mean serious financial trouble for Titan and it’s already going in that direction.

So, we have him telling Marlena in therapy that he can see it in Sarah’s eyes that she still wants to be with him. But Marlena, who is clearly and obviously team Brady, says that Xander is deluding himself. Marlena is usually very insightful, but she is off the mark about Sarah.

DOOL Leak: Xander & Sarah Reunite

So, our leaker says that Xander and Sarah are fully reunited this fall and that they get remarried during the holidays and that Xander and Sarah are still living out their happily ever after 9 months after they remarry.

Our leaker also told us that this reunion is going to give us the best version of Xander and Sarah that we’ve ever seen. I still remember one of their first scenes when they started sparking. That was when Xander stole Sarah’s muffin and then he stole her heart.

But to be fair, they started out getting physical too soon before they were getting emotional. They had some sexy fun and then Xander fell hard for Sarah and then she finally fell for him too. Also, Suzanne Rogers, who plays Sarah’s mom, Maggie Horton, did an interview.

It was a few months ago from this spring and she made comments on things that were filming at the time. And of course, remember they shoot 9 to 10 months ahead. So, this was late March, early April and it was stuff that would air around December 2026, January 2027. And Suzanne said, “Right now, Paul Telfer and Linsey Godfrey have a great storyline.

Days of our Lives Leaked Info on Xara Reunion

Those are the actors who play Xander and Sarah.” And Suzanne said, “I’m her mother and I’m his mother-in-law.” And the context was Suzanne Rogers kind of low-key griping about not working more, saying that she’s on the periphery of their story and isn’t working as much as she would if she was part of the main story.

But buried in there was big info on what’s ahead for Sarah and Xander. The Maggie actress was confirming Sarah and Xander’s remarriage by saying that’s my son-in-law and that aligns with the info that we’re getting from our leaker and the timing aligns. So, if you are a Xara shipper, this is great news for you, but it’s bad news for Brady.

By Robert Scucci
| Published 5 seconds ago

2025 was a quiet year for Nicolas Cage, as he appeared in only two movies: the laughably terrible Gunslingers, and The Carpenter’s Son, which I didn’t even know existed until I was scrolling through Tubi last night. Though it’s worth mentioning that during this time he was absolutely nailing his first official TV role with Spider-Noir, which was in active production from August 2024 to March 2025, explaining the perceived dip in his prolificness. And if you consider all three titles, it makes sense. Gunslingers and The Carpenter’s Son both feel like “white chip” jobs that kept our one true God busy while he wasn’t actively working on the blue-chip production that is Spider Noir.

At least that’s how I feel about The Carpenter’s Son. It’s a tight thriller centered on some of Jesus Christ’s lost years, and it tells a story about demon possession, I think. At its heart, though, it’s a story about a father and his son, and how something bigger than both of them will determine their fate in 15 AD. Outside of that, it’s mostly a bunch of moping and some pretty solid gore, but it’s not enough for me to consider this a full film.

Jesus, Mary, And Joseph! 

The Carpenter’s Son begins with The Mother (FKA Twigs) giving birth to The Boy (Noah Jupe) under the supervision and care of The Carpenter (Nicolas Cage). It’s heavily implied that The Carpenter, or Joseph, is not the boy’s biological father, but he still needs to protect The Boy because he comes from divine lineage. Plagued by nightmares and demons, along with the very real threat of children being rounded up and burned alive, The Carpenter lives in secrecy with The Mother and The Boy, vowing to protect them at all costs.

Nicolas Cage spends most of his screen time rattling off Bible verses and disciplining The Boy, who doesn’t yet know he’s the son of God, but has his suspicions. Whenever he touches the unclean, they appear to be healed, suggesting supernatural abilities. The Boy also feels everybody’s pain and is plagued by visions of his own, most of which are the result of The Stranger (Isla Johnston), or Satan, whispering in his ear.

The rest of the movie is basically The Carpenter trying to protect The Boy and keep him on a righteous path, The Mother agreeing with him, and The Boy rightfully lashing out because he has no clue what’s happening to him. The Stranger, whose snake-like influence corrupts The Boy, becomes a force to be reckoned with because she thrives on humanity’s collective suffering, and she knows that The Boy is her only roadblock. If she can defeat him, the world as we know it will most likely come to an end.

Wonderfully Shot And Acted, But Otherwise A Waste Of Time 

All the talent involved with The Carpenter’s Son is solid. Everybody rises to the occasion here, but it never feels like a feature film. The story, by design, is incredibly basic: a family has a kid who’s the son of God, his father figure tries to protect him and guide him in the right direction without explicitly telling him why, followed by the expected familial fallout once dark forces reveal themselves.

Nicolas Cage nails it as the refusing-to-waver father with the weight of the world on his shoulders. FKA Twigs expertly portrays a morally wounded Mary, caught between her maternal obligations and her spiritual ones. Noah Jupe is caught in the middle of the conflict as The Boy, and he shines brightest when he’s being actively antagonized by The Stranger, who is absolutely terrifying thanks to Isla Johnston’s performance. If there’s ever an award to be handed out for The Carpenter’s Son, it’s for Johnston’s resting scowl. She never does anything especially over the top or violent, but I legitimately felt violated by the way she stared through everybody’s soul.

At the end of the day, The Carpenter’s Son is a 94-minute movie that could have easily been wrapped up in 30 minutes, which is a shame because it was shot on location in Greece, and the scenery does so much of the heavy lifting. I just wish there had been a better reason to occupy that scenery when so little actually happens in it.

As of this writing, you can stream The Carpenter’s Son for free on Tubi.

THE CARPENTER’S SON SCORE

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 6 seconds ago

It’s been a weird year for Armie Hammer, the disgraced movie star who got canceled for the wildest reason of all: in 2021, his leaked messages to women revealed cannibalistic fantasies! Many thought he would never act again after such a wild revelation. However, he found a second chance with Uwe Boll, a provocateur who has been described as the world’s worst director. Boll cast Hammer in Citizen Vigilante, a movie where a man gets so fed up with violent immigrants that he starts murdering them. The film was quite divisive: some saw it as dark satire, others saw it as an anti-woke rallying call, and everyone else saw it as right-wing ragebait.

How did Hammer see it? Earlier this week, an unnamed source close to the actor claimed that Hammer called Citizen Vigilante “hateful” and “disgusting.” Before the dust even settled on these alleged comments, Boll spoke out, claiming that Hammer had a great time making the film before he started ranting about what audiences really want to see. Now, it’s harder than ever to divine how the controversial actor really felt about starring in this year’s most offensive movie. One thing’s for sure, though: despite being shared online for free and amplified by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, this film will not be the lasting rallying cry against immigrants that many conservatives were hoping for.

Somehow, Death Wish Returned

The plot of Citizen Vigilante is straightforward and (in typical Uwe Boll style) quite deranged. Armie Hammer plays an American veteran living in Europe who gets fed up with violent immigrants after his wife is murdered by one of them. He then begins a kind of two-pronged attack on the dangerous immigrants that he believes the justice system has been too lenient on. Online, he shares video screeds against his enemies; offline, he takes justice into his own hands, murdering criminal immigrants, Death Wish style. The movie ends with him murdering 10 Syrian refugees, ranting about the woke left and the need for citizens to do what the justice system will not.

What did Citizen Vigilante leading man Armie Hammer say about the film? A source close to him recently told Puck News that the actor, in tears, declared the film “hateful” and “disgusting.” The same source claims that, after watching the finished product, the actor declared, “That was not the movie I thought we made.” While this is open to debate (like, it seems impossible to read these lines and not realize what the movie is about!), the source claimed that Hammer was willing to star in the upcoming Citizen Vigilante sequel, but only if he is offered “life-changing money.” For context, he received $250,000 for the first one.

The Worst Movie Climax Ever Made?

That particular bit of celebrity gossip was still hot off the presses when Citizen Vigilante director Uwe Boll offered a retort. He told TheWrap that “Armie was perfect for the part and I loved working with him. He was prepared and delivered every day on set.” Continuing, he said, “We both had a great time working together, even if the subject matter of the film is very serious and real.” 

He then claimed, “It was clear that the film will split the audience, but I never cared about reviewers – I care about the audience. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes or 4.5 on Amazon shows that the audience loves the film.” Concluding, he said, “50% of the audience doesn’t feel connected anymore with the crap the studios are spitting out–they needed and wanted a blunt and hard film about reality.” While it’s unclear what RT scores have to do with claims about Armie Hammer hating the movie, Boll is focusing on audience scores because the critical score is an abysmally low 6 percent.

The Comeback Is Already Over

Right now, this is a classic case of he said, she said: Hammer (who has not confirmed anything this source said) reportedly hated Citizen Vigilante, while Boll claims the actor had a great time. It’s possible that both things are true, of course. Hammer might have enjoyed finally acting again and getting a decent payday, but maybe he’s now worried that starring in a film whose worst moments are being shared by the worst people on Earth might hurt his comeback chances. In that case, he might be a bit like Jonathan Majors: doomed to star only in films designed as provocative political propaganda.

Still, this current controversy will likely hurt both Boll and Hammer. While a Citizen Vigilante sequel is in the works, it’s unclear how much money the first film even made after being banned in the director’s native Germany. Plus, Hammer is now in the awkward position of either disowning the only movie he’s made in half a decade or leaning into being the new right-wing mouthpiece. His current silence hurts him either way, while Boll has successfully pigeonholed himself into only making movies for people who call everything they dislike (and have been told to dislike) “woke.’

Still, I’m afraid to be too mean to the edgelord director. Otherwise, his next film might be about hunting down all of the evil critics who commented on Citizen Vigilante after committing the worst crime of all: actually watching this piece of sh*t film!

The game may not be fully afoot just yet, but Sherlock Holmes 3 has finally received the kind of update fans have been waiting years to hear. After more than a decade of delays, changing release dates, and comments that have ranged between enthusiastic but noncommittal to production starting tomorrow, we now have an official update from someone actually working on the movie. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law may want to dust off their Victorian costumes.

Chris Brancato, who is listed as a screenwriter on the long-delayed third film, shared an exciting update on the future of Guy Ritchie‘s Sherlock Holmes saga, while promoting his latest series, The Westies. Brancato was cautious about its chances of going ahead imminently, noting that Downey Jr.’s schedule was quite busy, what with bringing about Doomsday upon us and all, but he did reveal that he’s already penned a script.

“Well, I don’t know, that’s up to the movie gods,” Brancato said to The Direct. “Also, Robert’s schedule. Robert has a very, very busy schedule, so I’m hopeful that it will get made. But you know, we have to wait and see how things shake out. You just never know with movies.”

When asked whether a completed script exists, Brancato gave a much clearer answer. “Oh, yes, yes. I wrote a draft.” His The Westies co-creator Michael Panes added, “And it’s very good.”

Will ‘Sherlock Holmes 3’ Happen?

The man behind the franchise isn’t giving up hope, either. Ritchie still very much wants it to happen, but he also emphasized that it’s a case of Downey Jr.’s schedule lining up with his. Speaking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub for In the Grey, Ritchie opened up about whether his current work on Young Sherlock means his older Sherlock Holmes franchise is finished or if we’d get more.

“I’d love to,” Ritchie said. “I adore Downey, and I adored making those two movies. Look, I think it’s just honestly a question of just aligning our schedules. I know the appetite for it’s there, but the appetite for it from our side is there, too. So, we’d love to make that happen. I just don’t know how it’s going to happen. It’s amazing that it hasn’t happened.”

The cast of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films includes Rachel McAdams (The Notebook) as Irene Adler, Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) as Inspector Lestrade, Kelly Reilly (Yellowstone) as Mary Morstan, Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Secret Service) as Lord Blackwood, and Jared Harris (Mad Men) as Professor Moriarty.

Stay tuned for more.

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Release Date

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December 16, 2011

Runtime

129 minutes

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Writers

Kieran Mulroney, Michele Mulroney, Arthur Conan Doyle

Producers

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Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Dan Lin

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  Robert Downey Jr.

  Sherlock Holmes

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By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 43 seconds ago

When I heard that Amazon was rebooting Ghost in the Shell for another series, I’ll be honest, I was terrified. The two movies, and Season 1 of Stand Alone Complex are some of the best anime of all time. The 2017 live-action movie with Scarlett Johansson and the Netflix series aren’t nearly as good. The 2026 Ghost in the Shell remake is, if it holds this level of quality beyond the first episode, the most faithful adaptation of the manga yet. 

A Remake And Not A Reimagning

Ghost in the Shell. first published in 1989 and running through 1991 by Masamune Shirow, is one of the most influential cyberpunk works ever created. The concept of “ghosts” and philosophical musings on transhumanism elevated it beyond a simple action story. Every series adaptation has used it as the building block to tell a different story within the world, which is why the latest 2026 version sticks out. 

For starters, Major Motoko Kusanagi is a lot goofier than in previous adaptations. She’s more talkative, plays pranks, and is overall, a lot lighter of a character than the usual overly serious, cold and calculating personality she usually gets saddled with. This new characterization isn’t new, it’s straight from the original source material, and while others were great too, it’s refreshing to see a series play it this close to the manga. 

Action From the Word “Go”

The Section 9 team’s first mission is to infiltrate an orphanage that reveals its dark nature when a young boy tries to escape. Riding in their Fuckikoma spider-bots, the team is ambushed by a security captain armed with a ghost controller. Of course, they wind up succeeding, and the concept of a ghost controller is going to be very important as the season goes on, but what sticks out during the action-heavy first episode is, beyond the Major’s different personality, is how it all looks. 

Science Saru has worked on Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Space Dandy, and Dandadan, but somehow, they managed to pull off with Ghost in the Shell a series that looks like it was pulled from 1995, but moves like a modern anime. The heavy inking lines, the way expressions are conveyed, the character designs, are all very 90s but it’s silky smooth, and with few exceptions, the anime of that era wasn’t this smooth. 

The Best Ghost In The Shell In Decades

I’ll admit it took me a moment to adjust to the new style that pays homage to the original manga while pushing the series into the future at the same time. As an avid Stand Alone Complex re-watcher, once my preconceptions were tossed aside, Ghost in the Shell’s premiere episode was a great way to restart the franchise. Except there was one noticeable problem. 

The subtitles provided by Amazon were incorrect. Not even slightly, in most cases they used different words that completely changed the humor and meaning of the character’s speech. The use of generative AI to provide subtitles has been an ongoing issue in the anime world, and it’s clear that Amazon not only used AI, but likely the cheapest one they could find. 

Ghost in the Shell’s 2026 remake debuted in the Amazon Prime Top Ten, which is incredibly impressive for an anime series. It speaks to the popularity of the original film and manga that over 30 years later, it’s still finding new fans. New episodes will be released on Tuesdays, only on Amazon Prime.

Ghost in the Shell (2026) First Episode

Footage has gone viral of Jessie Lopez Jr., a Pennsylvania teen, being stopped by an officer and then handcuffed for allegedly looking suspicious while wearing a hoodie.

RELATED: Mom Of Teen Who Was On Horn Island With Nolan Xavier Wells Speaks As Ben Crump Alleges 18-Year-Old Was Involved In “Argument”

Footage Goes Viral Of Pennsylvania Teen Jessie Lopez Jr. Being Stopped By Officer Then Handcuffed For Allegedly Looking Suspicious While Wearing Hoodie

On Wednesday, July 8, Jessie Lopez Sr. took to Instagram. This, to share a clip of his son’s “first encounter with the police in Williamsport.” In the clip, his son appears to be crossing the street, wearing a black windbreaker. This, while behind him walks a white man wearing a police vest.

“It’s a warm day to be wearing that jacket — you’re going to get hit by a car here. You’re gonna get hit by a car here. Stop. Stop. I’m asking you to stop! I’m asking you to stop,” the officer says, eventually grabbing the teen. “I’m doing a traffic stop on you. You walked across the road in front of a car.”

In the caption of the clip, Lopez Sr. wrote, “Today my son had his first encounter with the police in Williamsport. They said he looked suspicious because he had his hood up and a jacket on… this was a lesson for both of us. I need to make sure he knows how to interact with police, even when he feels he’s done nothing wrong. Things can escalate fast. He ended up handcuffed and detained because he didn’t want to stop and answer their questions…”

A follow-up clip shared by Lopez Sr. then showed his son in what appeared to be the back of a police car, handcuffed.

“Just looking at my son’s face sitting in the back of that car hurts my heart, man. As a father, that’s a moment I never wanted him to experience. You spend your life trying to protect your kids, teach them right, and keep them safe. Seeing him go through something like that is a feeling I wouldn’t wish on any parent,” Jessie Lopez Sr. wrote.

Social Media Weighs In

Social media users weighed in on the clip in TSR’s comment section.

Authorities Issue Statement On Footage Of Pennsylvania Teen Jessie Lopez Jr. Being Stopped By Officer Then Handcuffed

In a statement to  The Shade Room, the father explained that his son was “wearing a hooded jacket because he suffers from eczema, and direct sunlight aggravates his skin condition.”

“Although it was warm outside, there was a legitimate medical reason for him wearing his hood,” he explained.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, July 8, the Williamsport Bureau of Police released a statement. The bureau asserted that the stop was not done by a member of their team. Instead, the bureau alleged it was done by a member of the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office.

At this time, the DA’s office has not commented on the matter. This, while Lopez Sr. appears to be confused. On Thursday, he took to social media to write, “So I thought they were all together..”

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