We’re always curious–and a little worried–to see how popular stories make the transition when they’re adapted to a new medium. We’re even more worried about the live-action adaptation of fan-favorite Cowboy Bebop for Netflix because it’s one of our favorites, too. The wait to find out just got shorter, though, because the series’ first season has wrapped filming according to one of its stars.
News come from actress Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), who will be playing iconic con artist Faye Valentine in the upcoming show. Pineda writes on her Instagram, “I’m coming back on the air to say… Season 1 of Cowboy Bebop is finally, finished. Gonna dip again, but will return after these messages.”
The live-action show has picked up a few names from the original anime as a result of the downtime. Original creator Shinichiro Watanabe joined the team in a consulting role. Jeff Pinkner, who is developing the show alongside André Nemec, revealed last April that original composer Yoko Kanno is involved, stating that the show’s hour-long episodes “really tell stories set in that world in a way that hopefully will not only delight the fans of anime but expose a whole bunch of new people to the world of Cowboy Bebop, the awesome work of Yoko Kanno.”
Cowboy Bebop is based on the 1998 anime of the same name, which follows bounty hunters Spike Spiegel and Jet Black on their ship, the Bebop, as they’re joined by con artist Faye Valentine and hacker Radical Ed, taking bounty hunting jobs to get rich (or maybe just scrape by). The original anime appears regularly in anime top lists both from fans and critics alike.
The Cowboy Bebop live-action series stars John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black. There’s no word yet on Radical Ed joining the cast, but super-smart corgi Ein is confirmed to be on the cast. Netflix has not announced a release date, but we’re expecting it this year right now.
