Classic Anime Cowboy Bebop Is Officially Getting The Live-Action Treatment On Netflix

Immediately after a full decade of rumors and false hope, Cowboy Bebop is officially getting the live-action treatment — for better or for worse.


On Tuesday (November 27), Netflix reported that snarky bounty hunter Spike Spiegel and his motley crew would ride again in a 10-episode live-action adaptation of the beloved 90s anime. The sci-fi noir tells the story of a rag-tag sort of bounty hunters — Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed — as they hunt down the galaxy's most dangerous criminals while on the run from the demons of their pasts (both physical and metaphorical).


While Hollywood doesn't have the ideal track record once it comes to adapting anime — and Netflix's Death Note film was panned by fans and critics alike — original Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichiro Watanabe is on board with the project and will serve as consultant. Meanwhile, the Thor: Ragnarok's Chris Yost will pen the opening script, which could bode well for the show's humor. (Though, for what it's worth, Yost also penned Thor: The Dark World.)


long because the series gets Yoko Kanno back to score its jazzy soundtrack then there's no real reason to be alarmed up until there's actual footage accessible to screen. As for its cast, well, maybe there's still a role for actor and fan Keanu Reeves, who would have been the ideal Spike... 10 years prior.


Netflix's Cowboy Bebop adaptation is the latest move in the studio's massive anime push. The streaming giant also reported that Neon Genesis Evangelion and its two films could be coming to the platform, moreover to original anime productions 7Seeds, Ultraman, Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, and a untitled Pacific Rim series.