Ragesh Dipu
Netflix’s live-action series ‘Cowboy Bebop‘ gets a new cast. John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda, and Alex Hassell have been cast in lead roles, reports Variety. ‘Cowboy Bebop’ is based on the original Japanese animated series and manga of the same name.
John Cho plays Spike Spiegel, the lucid bounty hunter who can shoot a killing smile. He roams the solar system with his ex-cop partner, Jet, played by Mustafa Shakir. Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassell play the amnesiac con artist Faye Valentine and the hitman Vicious respectively.
Set in 2071, the plot follows a bounty hunter crew led by Cho’s Spiegel. They hunt down the most dangerous bounties across the solar system. According to Netflix’s official statement, ‘Speigel is haunted by visions of the woman he loved and lost, Julia. His criminal past slowly catches up to him, putting him and the Bebop crew in the cross-hairs of the solar system’s most lethal criminal organization, the Syndicate.’
Shakir’s Jet Black is the jazz-loving captain of the spaceship Bebop. He stands for the honor and optimism of the crew and often acts as a father figure to all of them. He shares a special bond with Spike. Pineda’s Faye Valentine always searches for the person with the key to unlock her memory box. Hassell’s Vicious is a ruthless criminal mind and a best friend-turned-nemesis for Spike.
‘Cowboy Bebop’ enjoys a cult following among anime lovers. The series is considered as a modern classic with its surreal setting, elaborate action sequences and mind-blowing score rendered by the legendary Yoko Kanno. He delivers a different musical theme for each episode.
The series was started off as a TV show and adapted into manga after the immense popularity. In 2001, there was a spin-off the movie to the series to cash on the cult following. The bounty hunter crew includes Spike, Jet, Faye, the hacker kid Ed, and corgi Ein, who collectively referred to as ‘cowboys.’ They chase bounties around the galaxy on their spaceship Bebop, and the year is 2071.
Spike battles with his inner demons form a past life. Spike had an affair with a woman called Julia. But she was the girlfriend of Spike’s then best friend Vicious. The affair split them apart and Vicious established ties with a lethal interstellar criminal organization known as the Red Dragon Crime Syndicate.
According to Variety, Netflix has given a 10-episode season order for ‘ Cowboy Bebop.’ The first episode is written by Christopher Yost, known for ‘Thor: Ragnarok.’ He serves as the executive producer alongside Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg.
Cho, who is known as the ‘Star Trek‘ actor, has movies like ‘Harold and Kumar’ to his credit. His upcoming projects include an episode of ‘Twilight Zone’ reboot on CBS. Shakir recently appeared in the second season of Marvel’s Netflix series ‘Luke Cage’ and the HBO series ‘The Deuce.’
Pineda is known for her roles in ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,’ ‘The Detour’ and ‘Inside Amy Schumer.’ Hassell has an impressive line-up of upcoming series, which includes the Amazon series ‘The Boys.’ Projects like ‘The Bisexual’ and and ‘Genius’ Season 2 made him a familiar face.
The streaming platform reveals that the talent hunt for the character Radical Ed is still on, and will continue till the makers zero in on the right actor. Sunrise Inc., the studio behind the original manga series, is repped by Yasuo Miyakawa, Masayuki Ozaki and Shin Sasaki. Shinichiro Watanabe, director of the original anime, takes part in the production as a consultant. Netflix is yet to announce a launch date for ‘Cowboy Bebop.’
