Netflix announced the cast for its upcoming jazz-inspired, genre-bending series Cowboy Bebop, and fans have a lot of feelings.
Based on a Japanese anime series from the late ’90s, Cowboy Bebop follows a rag-tag crew of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals. They’ll even save the world … for the right price.
Check out the confirmed cast (so far) and character details from Netflix below. Edward, another main character who joined the crew later in the original series, has yet to be cast.
John Cho (Star Trek, Searching) will play Spike Spiegel, an impossibly cool “cowboy” (read: bounty hunter) with a deadly smile, a wry wit, and style to spare. He travels the solar system with his ex-cop partner, Jet, pursuing the future’s most dangerous bounties with a combination of charm, charisma, and deadly Jeet Kune Do.
Mustafa Shakir (Marvel’s Luke Cage) will portray Jet Black, one of the last few honest cops in the solar system before an ultimate betrayal forced him into a vagabond lifestyle. Jet is a jazz enthusiast and Captain of the Bebop.
Daniella Pineda (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Originals) will play Faye Valentine, a bold, brash, and unpredictable bounty hunter. Suffering from amnesia after years of being cryogenically frozen (damn, girl), Faye does whatever it takes to survive, which can mean anything from lying and stealing to just being a thorn in Spike and Jet’s side.
Alex Hassell (The Red Sea Diving Resort, Suburbicon) rounds out this round of cast announcements as Vicious, a man who thoroughly enjoys a good kill. Vicious serves as a notorious hitman. Drama alert: He’s also Spike’s ex-partner and archenemy.
Alex Garcia Lopez (The Witcher, Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s The Punisher, Utopia) will direct the first two episodes of the 10-episode series, and Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok) will write the first episode.
As with any adaptation, fans are concerned about how Netflix will handle their beloved series, with some bemoaning the casting while others are wondering who asked for a live-action remake in the first place.
It’s not the casting I have an issue with. It’s the fact that they’re making a live action cowboy bebop. We don’t need a live action version.
— Daniel (@Doll_lifeDan) April 5, 2019
This casting is absolute garbage. @netflix should just stay away from live action anime adaptations and tainting good anime like #Deathnote #CowboyBebop pic.twitter.com/7sy900QV8l
— Frankie (@That_Cisco_Kid) April 4, 2019
I love John Cho but who tf asked for this movie?
— LI (@GORILLAGLUE__) April 4, 2019
— † W △ L F S Z N † (@JuantonxSoup) April 4, 2019
While the reactions skewed a bit heavily toward, “please, don’t,” it wasn’t all bad.
I’m so excited! pic.twitter.com/jZIa6LHQKW
— Mimiwilliams (@Mimiwilliams1) April 4, 2019
Please be good…please be good…please be good… pic.twitter.com/AwGnsI5SeS
— Kevin F. (@intotalkaos) April 5, 2019
Hmmm…maybe it won’t be that bad after all. I mean let’s all face it… live action simply just cannot capture the magic of anime. But if they don’t try to do too much EXTRA stuff with this it might be a cool thing to watch. Lol I’m trying to be optimistic here.
— KEMBAY (@_KEMBAY) April 4, 2019
Netflix will release the series later this year; in the meantime, haters gon’ hate.
Photo: Netflix
