By Howdy there Space Cowboys! Are you ready for a live-action adaption of one of the most beloved animes out there? Netflix has got the reins and is steering this ship now.
Cowboy Bebop is an anime that has influenced and takes influence from a lot of different things. A lot of people in the US got their first taste of this show when it premiered on Toonami, Cartoon Network’s anime block, and it shot to popularity almost instantly after the first episode ended. I remember watching it and realizing what animation could do and how it could be just as cool as some live action series. Hearing that a live-action series is in the works was at first jarring, but with the right cast, it seemed like it could work since the anime was somewhat grounded in realism…aside from all the spaceships and whatnot.
Hi amigos and all 300,000 bounty hunters in the star system! Happy to announce that @JohnTheCho, @_mustafashakir_, @Maniella, and Alex Hassell have been cast in the #CowboyBebop Live Action TV Drama.
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) April 4, 2019
Thankfully, they seem to have got the right cast. Netflix has just announced the cast for the majority of the core characters. We have John Cho playing Spike Spiegel, who has a lot to live up to with this role. Spike is an anime icon when it comes to cool. Cho has a wide range and I’m cautiously optimistic to see what he’ll do with the character. Next up there is Mustafa Shakir playing Jet Black. An ex-cop who holds true to his morals even if it has burnt him before. Shakir is most notable for playing Bushmaster in Luke Cage and should be able to bring the cool head of the Bebop to life just fine. Daniella Pineda will be our Faye Valentine in this venture and it should be fun seeing how she plays this con woman with a sort-of conscience. Finally, there will be Alex Hassell filling in the role of Vicious, Spike’s former friend turned arch-enemy. It may be hard to bring the quiet menace of Vicious to the screen but here’s hoping it all comes together in glorious fashion. For anyone curious about our favorite hacker Ed, well they have yet to be cast.
The Cowboy Bebop live-action series does not currently have a release date
‘Cowboy Bebop’: John Cho to Play Spike Spiegel in Netflix’s Live-Action Series [Collider]