Cowboy Bebop Showrunner on the Challenges of Adapting Anime's Hallowed Grounds

By Nick Valdez

The showrunner behind Netflix's new live-action Cowboy Bebop series opened up about the challenges of adapting such a "hallowed ground" for anime! When Netflix first revealed their plans back in 2018 to produce a live-action version of Cowboy Bebop, anime fans were mixed with the news. Considering the spotty reputation live-action adaptations have had for anime franchises in the past, there was an even greater amount of concern considering the Shinichiro Watanbe directed original anime is still kept in high regard by many old and new fans across the board. It's a concern the showrunner themselves are very much aware of. 

Speaking with Polygon about the upcoming live-action series for Netflix, Cowboy Bebop showrunner André Nemec opened up about the challenges of adapting such a massive fan favorite series, "I was fond of saying, 'This is Cowboy Bebop, it's pretty hallowed ground, so let's not fuck it up,'" Nemec began. Explaining further, Nemec revealed that the approach for the Netflix series was not to directly adapt what came in the anime, but to instead tap into much of that original series' spirit as possible. 

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(Photo: Netflix)

"We would look at sets, we would look at props, we would look at costumes, we would look at the edits, we would talk about all of these things, not to ape the anime," Nemec continued, "but to live in the spirit of the anime." Noting that there were many things that the anime was able to do that could not be replicated in real life, Nemec then revealed that they had looked toward what inspired the original anime's development for more adaptation inspirations. 

The same idea goes into the new Cowboy Bebop's action sequences as well which Nemec teases that fans will "see different versions of action sequences in which you're really like living through the character versus just a singular style throughout the show." The famous Bebop ship as well also had a lot of attention paid to getting it just right, "Anybody who really knows the anime will know that there are different versions of the Bebop," Nemec began. "It's a little wider here, it's got a little bit more of a potbelly, it's a little bit longer, it's a little grayer. So we did dozens and dozens of designs, put a dozen different Bebops on 3D turntables, moved them around, and got to where we felt this was the best representation of the Bebop."

Fans will see for themselves how Cowboy Bebop's new live-action series approaches the world of the original soon enough when it debuts with Netflix on November 19th. Netflix officially describes Cowboy Bebop as such, "Cowboy Bebop is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka 'cowboys,' all trying to outrun the past. As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system's most dangerous criminals — for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them."

But what do you think? What are you hoping to see from the new Cowboy Bebop series? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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