Another cult favorite is coming to life. Cowboy Bebop is getting a live-action adaptation — and Netflix finally released details about the highly anticipated TV show.
The series is a space western about bounty hunters traveling through space in the year 2071. It’s their job to hunt down criminals throughout the galaxy (at a price, of course), but they have their own dark pasts that they just can’t escape.
Netflix, which first ordered 10 episodes of the series in 2018, released the first photos from Cowboy Bebop in August 2021, getting fans very excited to see their favorite characters return to the small screen.
The diehards were thrilled to get their first look at the main trio of bounty hunters (also called “cowboys”). John Cho plays Spike Spiegel, while Mustafa Shakir appears as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda portrays Faye Valentine.
“How does Spike look even cooler in the live ac…..nevermind it’s John Cho that answers everything,” one Twitter user quipped.
“I don’t usually trust anime live action adaptations but this is looking awesome so far!” another fan tweeted.
Another gave Faye’s new costume a seal of approval. “Can I just say I LOVE their take on Faye’s costume? The anime version was entirely unrealistic for live action but this still LOOKS like Faye Valentine,” the admirer added.
While it’s not a direct adaptation, writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach promised that they’re trying to please the adoring audiences of the original anime series.
“We’re deep enough in a world that where fandom is important to the existence of shows, that people like me don’t ever really lose sight of that,” he told Gizmodo in June 2020. “I think that there are always going to be tone-deaf reboots of things and all of that, but we’re fans. You know, we come at this as fans. We love genre, we love science fiction, and we love Cowboy Bebop.”
The series faced several production delays. Before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down several movie and TV productions, Cho sustained a knee injury on set in New Zealand. The accident happened in October 2019 and required several months of hiatus for the Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle actor, who needed surgery.
Eventually, it was safe for Cho and the cast to return and finish filming the first season of the sci-fi adventure in New Zealand.
Scroll down to learn everything we know about Cowboy Bebop: