One of the most beloved anime shows of all time, the upcoming live-action Netflix adaptation of Cowboy Bebop has a lot of anticipation (and pressure) around it. Especially given how distinguished the original anime was, delivering a Western-style tale of bounty hunters in space with a catchy jazz-style soundtrack to help bridge it into noir. It hasn't been an easy road bringing the adaptation to the screen either, originally entering production in late-2019, but then lead star John Cho sustained a knee injury that set back production by about eight months. Then, when COVID-19 hit, production was furthered delayed.
However, production finally wrapped earlier this year in March and today has finally confirmed a premiere date on Netflix for November 19th. In addition, several new photos have been released, giving a first look at Cho as Spike Spiegel, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black. The images seem to demonstrate a desire to bridge the visuals of the original anime with live-action and, for the most part, looks better than expected. Check them out below:
Alex Hassell and Elena Satine will co-star as Vicious and Julia, respectively. Andre Nemec and Jeff Pinkner (Alias, Fringe) are serving as showrunners while Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian) is writing the scripts for the 10-episode run. Notably, the anime's composter Yoko will return to do the music. Stay tuned!
Looks better than expected? Are you fucking kidding me? It looks like shit!! That being said, having Yoko Kanno in charge of the score is a good point.