Anime purists and those with a more open mind finally have a date for when they can start praising and complaining about the Netflix live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.
Cowboy Bebop, of course, adapts the iconic '90s anime of the same name by Shinichirō Watanabe, who also created such shows as Samurai Champloo and the criminally underseen Carole & Tuesday. The original show follows a group of space bounty hunters 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 jazz-inspired soundtrack.
The upcoming Netflix live-action adaptation is developed by Alias's André Nemec and Jeff Pinkner (who also worked on Fringe) and written by Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian). The show stars John Cho as the bounty hunter Spike Spiegel, as well as Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Alex Hassell as Vicious, Elena Satine as Julia, and an adorable Corgi as Ein.
The show has a lot of skepticism to overcome, but what little we've seen and heard of the production has me hopeful that this will at least capture the spirit of the original. It helps that Yoko Kanno will return to compose new and original music for the live-action series, as Kanno's jazz-inspired sound helped make the original Cowboy Bebop such a distinct and memorable show.
The show faced several delays, between the pandemic, and star Cho getting injured while filming a stunt, which delayed production. But it seems that we are finally getting to see the world of Bebop in flesh and blood soon enough.
Cowboy Bebop will debut November 19 on Netflix. See you soon, Space Cowboy.