‘Cowboy Bebop’ Director Opens Up About Hollywood’s New Live-Action Adaptation

It's no secret; Hollywood does not have the best reputation when it comes live-action anime. Projects like Ghost in the Shell and Dragonball Evolution put audiences off the genre because of their lackluster debuts. However, it doesn't look like Hollywood is ready to give up on the shtick one more go, and the industry hopes to turn its luck around with Cowboy Bebop.

As you can imagine, fans have been mixed about the idea of a live-action Cowboy Bebop take. Hollywood has tried to get such a project rolling before, but this rejuvenated attempt hopes to bring Spike Spiegel back to the small screen. And, for those of you who need to know, the acclaimed director of Cowboy Bebop has opened up about the new live-action plans.

During an Australian anime convention, Shinichiro Watanabe appeared to speak with fans about his heralded career, and IGN had the chance to speak with the illustrious director. It was there Watanabe opened up about Hollywood and its new plans for Cowboy Bebop, and it seems like the director isn't sure how to feel about the project.

"In my personal opinion, if the live-action adaptation is able to bring out the good points of what was part of the anime or original manga series - if they're able to keep that alive - then I think it's a good point," Watanabe admitted.

"If they're actually adapting it and spoiling what was particularly good about those series or the good thing about being in animation or manga, then I don't think that's really a great thing."

Continuing, Watanabe said the project appears to be in the early stages of casting and development. The director told IGN it hasn't been decided whether he will be involved with the live-action adaptation in any way.

"It's not quite decided yet. We're actually currently in discussions of whether I will be involved or not be involved. However, it is seen that the staff that are going to work with the project really respects the original animation. They're going to try and bring as much of the animation as possible - you can't really say anything until it's actually done but that's currently the discussion," Watanabe explained.

So far, no details about this new adaptation have been announced, and fans are reserving their judgement on the project until more information is made public. Tomorrow Studios is said to be overseeing the project alongside Sunrise, the studio responsible for creating Cowboy Bebop. Surise will be working with Midnight Radio (Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg), Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, and Matthew Weinberg to produce. The adaptation itself is slated to be written by Chris Yost.

What do you think about this live-action project? Do you have any faith? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!