‘Cowboy Bebop’: Live-Action Drop Coming Soon on Netflix

Some adaptations are better than others, but when it comes to something as beloved as your favorite stories getting a live adaptation, one can only hope for the best. While news about the Lord of the Rings prequel has been lacking in recent months, some productions are far enough along for a release date. Cowboy Bebop, starring John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, and Daniella Pineda as the titular crew of the Bebop, the spaceship that lends its name to the title, is nearly here.

Will it be faithful to the anime?

The original anime is praised for its unique styling by combining a wide range of themes, music, and action to create an exciting blend of Eastern anime meets Old West gunslinging set in a space-faring future. The description on the channel page is surprisingly bare just describing it as a “…live-action adaptation of Shinichiro Watanabe’s classic anime.”

For now, what viewers can speculate on is what they can see in the teasers and trailers. The first-season trailer released by Netflix appears to be leaning into its source material completely. It features a few iconic moments made real like the Teddy Bear Bomber and the standoff between Vicious and Spike near a stained-glass window. It also features “Tank!”, a song composed by Yoko Kanno, which was the iconic opening theme for the original show.

In the “Genre Specific Moment Clip,” one can see a nearly frame-by-frame recreation of the opening–from the anime as well as featured Easter eggs that might be hinting at some of the episodes.

Cowboy Bebop release date and episodes

The wait is almost over with season 1 set to drop November 19^th. In a very Netflix fashion, all 10 episodes are going to be released simultaneously for your binge-watching pleasure. Notably, the live-action episodes will be featured in hour-long installments in contrast to the anime’s much shorter 25-minute run time. With any luck, this will let the show dive deep into the vague 26-episode run that only hinted at certain events and possibly expand on some of our favorite mysteries.

Fears and expectations

The outfits in Cowboy Bebop certainly reflect a future filled with an almost Cyberpunk aesthetic sporting bright colors, asymmetrical designs, and lots of guns. There was some controversy surrounding the Faye Valentine costume for the remake. The actress, Daniella Pineda, made a rather tongue-in-cheek apology on her Instagram story stating that the original costume “got lost in [her] various crevasses.” She made similar remarks regarding her height, breast, and waist size as well.

The nonchalant attitude of Spike Spiegel seems to have been replaced with a quippy take on the character. With only a few minutes of teasers to go on, viewers will have to find out if this turns into another live-action disaster or a fun nostalgic trip for old fans.

The quirky grindhouse feel to the trailers certainly make this seem like a fun and exciting weekend binge–no matter what.