John Cho Opens Up About Playing Cowboy Bebop's Spike
John Cho is having a busy year and it has barely begun. These days, the actor is busying promoting [...]
John Cho is having a busy year and it has barely begun. These days, the actor is busying promoting his work on The Grudge, a remake of a classic Japanese horror film. Of course, the actor is also busy with another overseas title as he's been cast in the live-action Cowboy Bebop series, and Cho has opened up about the gig in a recent interview.
Speaking with IGN, the actor shared a few short words about Cowboy Bebop with fans. When asked about preparing for the role, Cho admitted he did not speak with the series' creator upon being cast.
Rather than meeting with Shinichiro Watanabe, the actor said he focused on the source material. The anime helped guide Cho the most, and he hinted the show has to "keep it strange" to appease the anime's unique demands.
So far, Cho says he is happy with what he's seen. "We're not done, but it's really cool. It's such a unique piece of material. It's got such a unique vibe," the actor said.
"I watched some of the stuff, and I am really happy with it."
Right now, Cowboy Bebop is on break to give Cho time for The Grudge and to heal. In October, Deadline confirmed the star was injured on set while doing a "routine and well-rehearsed scene" that prompted Cho to get surgery.
"[The injury] requires surgery, for which Cho has been flown back to Los Angeles, and an extensive rehabilitation. The production shutdown is expected to last between 7 and 9 months. The new filming schedule will be set once Cho's prognosis is clear."
For now, fans are waiting to see how Cho and the rest of the cast handle Cowboy Bebop. The live-action series will be the first to tackle the iconic anime, but it is far from the first of its kind. Time and again, Hollywood has struggled to perfect its take on anime, but Netflix's latest adaptation could be the one to fix that reputation.
Do you think Cho will nail this role? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
The Cowboy Bebop live-action series will be a co-production between Netflix and Tomorrow Studios. The series has been confirmed to run for 10 episodes, and Alex Garcia Lopez (Marvel's Daredevil) will direct the first two episodes. Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok) has been confirmed to write the first episode. The currently confirmed cast for the new series includes the John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and Alex Hassell as Vicious.