With Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop arriving on the streamer this Friday, I recently had the chance to talk with John Cho (Spike Spiegel), Daniella Pineda (Faye Valentine) and Mustafa Shakir (Jet Black) about making the anticipated series. During the fun interview, they revealed some of the many Easter eggs hidden in the series, what they’re most excited for fans to see in the show, what it was like filming the opening credits and trying to recreate the animated series, if they think the show is really about food and music and the catching of the bad guys is just what goes on between talking about those things, and more. In addition, I jokingly asked Cho if Spike would ever leave the ship if the Bebop made delicious noodles, and which of them has started doing a shower, bath, shower (it’s a thing in one of the episodes).
If you’ve never seen Cowboy Bebop, the live-action series adapts the iconic '90s anime of the same name by Shinichirō Watanabe. The original show follows a group of space bounty hunters in the year 2071 and their lives onboard the eponymous ship Bebop, as they navigate life and try to escape their past. The show is famous for its unique blend of western, sci-fi and noir sensibilities, as well as its amazing jazz-inspired soundtrack. While the Netflix live-action series is extremely faithful to the anime, it takes its time getting the crew together, and expands the roles of Alex Hassell as Vicious and Elena Satine as Julia.
Cowboy Bepop is written by Christopher Yost, who also serves as a producer, and André Nemec is the showrunner. The series is a co-production between the original series creators Sunrise Inc., with executive producer Marty Adelstein's company Tomorrow Studios, and the producing team over at Midnight Radio.
Watch what John Cho, Daniella Pineda and Mustafa Shakir had to say in the player above and everything we talked about is listed below.
John Cho, Daniella Pineda and Mustafa Shakir
- Have any of them starting doing shower, bath, shower as a result of the episode that talks about it?
- Would Spike leave the ship if the Bebop made delicious noodles?
- Do they think the show is really about food and talking about music and the catching of the bad guys is just what goes on between those things?
- What are they most excited for people to see in the series?
- How the series is loaded with Easter eggs.
- What Easter eggs should people be on the lookout for?
- What was it like filming the opening credits and trying to recreate the animated series?
- Did they ever want to leave set with their costumes on just to show people how cool the costumes were?
- How John Cho has turned into a suit guy after making the series.
