Netflix Gives First Look At Live-Action 'Cowboy Bebop' Series

Netflix Inc. NFLX has offered a first look at its live-action adaptation of the science-fiction anime classic “Cowboy Bebop,” which is set to debut on Nov. 19.

What Happened: “Cowboy Bebop” followed the adventures of intergalactic bounty hunters in the year 2071. The 26-episode series first broadcast on Japan’s TV Tokyo in 1998 and American audiences first saw it in September 2001 in an English-dubbed presentation on Cartoon Network’s late-night Adult Swim programming line-up.

The series spawned two manga series, a video game and a feature-length film. Plans for a live-action film starring Keanu Reeves as the protagonist Spike Siegel were announced in 2009, but the production never came about.

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What Happened Now: Netflix announced in 2018 it was picking up a 10-episode live-action series based on “Cowboy Bebop” that has been in development for a year. Filming began in New Zealand in the summer of 2019, but was halted in October of that year when John Cho injured his leg, which required him to return to the U.S. for surgery. New Zealand’s draconian response to the COVID-19 pandemic further delayed production until September 2020 and wrapped in March.

Netflix didn't release a trailer for “Cowboy Bebop,” although it tweeted photos of Cho as Spike Siegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine.