‘Cowboy Bebop’ Crew Addresses Possible Sequels

It is hard to imagine a world where Cowboy Bebop brings out a sequel. The acclaimed anime is often regarded as one of television’s finest series period, but there are fans who wonder what a follow-up to Cowboy Bebop would look like. However, it doesn’t seem the crew behind the show is eager for a full-on sequel to come around.

Recently, ComicBook spoke with several writers and animators on Cowboy Bebop at New York Comic Con. It was there Toshihiro Kawamoto was asked if there was a desire on the team’s part to revisit the franchise for a sequel.

So, rather than embark on a sequel, the animation director suggested fans give Space Dandy a try.

“Are you familiar with Space Dandy? Watanabe created Space Dandy for a sort of revisit to a similar world, but if you pay attention to the currency that’s used in Dandy, it is also Oolong,” the artist explained.

“There are a lot of small elements that are kind of similar to Bebop. You know, in that way, Space Dandy is a revisit to this world.”

Of course, Kawamoto is right about the ties Space Dandy shares with Cowboy Bebop. The series might have started as a seinen manga under Square Enix, but Watanabe’s anime adaptation folded Space Dandy into the Cowboy Bebop world. The flashy sci-fi comedy has several subtle allusions to Cowboy Bebop, but there’s no overt crossover in terms of story arcs or characters. So, Space Dandy was a safe way to explore Watanabe’s universe without upsetting the legacy Cowboy Bebop left behind.

While a sequel for Cowboy Bebop doesn’t appear to be in the cards, the franchise will be brought back to life soon enough. Reports went live last year confirming Sunrise and Tomorrow Studios are creating a live-action remake of Cowboy Bebop for TV. So far, no casting for the show has gone live, but Chris Yost has been tapped to pen the series.

Do you think the decision to leave the anime be is the right one? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Cowboy Bebop was first produced by Sunrise in 1998. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, with scripts written by Keiko Nobumoto, character designer Toshihiro Kawamoto, and songs composed by Yoko Kanno, the series explores many existentialist philosophies as it follows the adventures of Spike Spiegel, and a group of bounty hunter misfits aboard the titular spaceship the Bebop in the year 2071.

The series premiered in Japan back in 1998, and ran for 26 episodes until 1999. It was licensed for an English language released by Bandai Entertainment and Funimation, and was the very first anime series to air on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block in the United States.