Many a fan has feared this day, even since the announcement was made late last year that the streaming giant Netflix was going to be making a live-action Cowboy Bebop show. Well, brace yourself for relief or anger, cause the official main cast has been announced. Here is the cast with their official descriptions:
John Cho will play Spike Spiegel, “an impossibly cool ‘cowboy’ (bounty hunter) with a deadly smile, a wry wit and style to spare. He travels the solar system with his ex-cop partner, Jet, pursuing the future’s most dangerous bounties with a combination of charm, charisma — and deadly Jeet Kune Do.”
Mustafa Shakir is playing Jet Black, “one of the few honest cops in the solar system before an ultimate betrayal robbed him of all that he loved, forcing him into a vagabond life of hunting bounties to put food on the table. Jet is an inveterate jazz enthusiast and captain of the Bebop.”
Daniella Pineda will play Faye Valentine, “a bold, brash and unpredictable bounty hunter. Suffering from amnesia after years of being cryogenically frozen, Faye does whatever it takes to survive. Whether she’s lying, stealing, or just being a thorn in Spike and Jet’s side.”
Alex Hassell is playing Vicious, “a man who thoroughly enjoys a good kill, Vicious is the Syndicate’s most notorious hitman. He’s also Spike Spiegel’s ex-partner and arch-enemy.”
No word has to who will play Ed or Julia, though it has been mentioned that they will be a part of the cast. Shinichiro Watanabe, who directed the original anime, is a consultant on the series, though how much say he had in the casting is unknown. No showrunner has been made known, but Alex Garcia Lopez, who has worked on several Marvel show, will direct the first two episodes with Christopher Yost, who wrote Thor: Ragnarok and is penning Silver & Black, will write the first episode.
All of these actors have been great in other media. John Cho has been on the scene for a long time, though most recently known for his turns in the Star Trek reboot and The Twilight Zone. The others have several big projects under their belts as well: Shakir played Bushmaster on Luke Cage, Pineda was in The Detour and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and Alex Hassell is a Shakespearian actor who has had numerous roles on stage and screen. Still, I am wondering what sort of backlash will come in the wake of this news – if fans will think the casting is too diverse, not diverse enough, or diverse in the wrong way.
There’s no news yet as to when we can expect to see the 10-episode Cowboy Bebop mini-series on Netflix.
