Cowboy Bebop: Live Action is on the line. Live actions can make or break the animated version of a project. It can either bring another flavor to your childhood or ruin it forever. Well, Cowboy Bebop: Live Action looks promising. Why? Read on to find out.
Cowboy Bebop is a Japanese science-fiction anime. It explored the space western genre of the science-fiction. It is set in 2071 and follows a bounty hunter crew traveling in their spaceship called the Bebop. The anime also focuses on adult themes of existential ennui, loneliness, and difficulties of trying to escape one’s past. The anime premiered in 1998 originally for only twelve episodes. It was halted due to its adult themes controversy. In 1999, Wowow broadcast the entire twenty-six episodes. Now, a live-action series will bring the animation to life. The world was different back then with lesser openness to mature themes, which probably won’t be a hassle for the series now.
What can you expect from Cowboy Bebop: Live Action?
In an interview with io9, Cowboy Bebop showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach explained in depth what the fans can expect from the live-action series. The first difference between the anime and the live-action series will be the episode running time. The episodes will run for one hour each as compared to 22-minute anime episodes. In the upcoming series, you will see Cowboy Bebop as an inspiration, not as a foundation. Javier said, “We’re not going to go one-to-one on all of those stories because we’re also trying to tell the broader story of Spike Spiegel and the Syndicate, Spike Spiegel and Julia, Spike Spiegel and Vicious, and all that.” Everything will have a broader narrative.
Another difference is that there won’t be only a single antagonist. The anime was a show of bounty hunters, but the live-action will not center around a single ‘bounty’. Grillo-Marxuach said, “We don’t want the fans of the show to look at it and say that we failed them or we failed the original.”
The Cast
- John Cho as Spike Speigel
- Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine
- Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black
- Alex Hassell as Vicious
- Elena Satine as Julia
- A cute corgi as Ein
Cowboy Bebop: Live Action Release Date
The live-action was scheduled to release in 2020. But, the shooting had to halt in 2019 following John Cho’s knee injury. This sent the production half a year back. The filming location is in New Zealand, so the cast and crew could not reach there amidst the lockdown. Now, Cho is recovered and restrictions are lifting so the production is back on track. So, we are hoping that Cowboy Bebop: Live Action will release in 2021. We can also expect the second season to come soon after that because the makers are preparing for it as well.
