It is almost impossible to talk about the best animes ever without somebody quickly bringing up Cowboy Bebop. Because of this, it should not come as a surprise that the popular anime is getting a live-action adaptation for American television.
Tomorrow Studios (Aquarius, Prison Break: Resurrection) will be teaming up with Sunshine, the team that brought us the original anime of Cowboy Bebop, amongst others to bring the live-action remake to life. If that is not exciting enough, the writer behind Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok, Christopher Yost, has signed up to write the script for the adaptation. Producer Marty Adelstein had this to say about the remake in an interview with Deadline, “The animated version has long resonated with audiences worldwide, and with the continued, ever growing, popularity of anime, we believe a live action version will have an incredible impact today.”
Cowboy Bebop first came to the states in 2001, although it originally released in 1998, and was the first anime to be shown on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. It is known for its blending of science fiction and jazz music that brought a new feel and sound to anime that appealed to fans all across the board. The anime focuses on a group of bounty hunters (or “cowboys”): Spike Siegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine, and Ed Wong. Along with their corgi, Ein, the group tracks down bounties in their good ship Bebop. After the 26-episode anime ended, a movie was released in 2001 called Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.
This isn’t the first time a live-action adaptation was announced. A live-action filmed was announced but never made it past the development stages. With the recently announced live-action film for Death Note and the anime for Castlevania releasing this summer, it is obvious that anime fans have plenty to look forward to in the coming months!