Original Cowboy Bebop Director Says Netflix’s Live-Action Version ‘Was Clearly Not Cowboy Bebop‘
Shin’ichirô Watanabe, a key member of the original Cowboy Bebop‘s creative team, has weighed in on Netflix‘s recent live-action take — and it’s safe to say he wasn’t a fan.
“For the new Netflix live-action adaptation, they sent me a video to review and check. It started with a scene in a casino, which made it very tough for me to continue,” said Watanabe, who wrote and directed several episodes of the late-’90s anime series, in a recent Forbes interview. “I stopped there and so only saw that opening scene. It was clearly not Cowboy Bebop, and I realized at that point that if I wasn’t involved, it would not be Cowboy Bebop. I felt that maybe I should have done this. Although the value of the original anime is somehow far higher now.”
Netflix’s iteration — which respectively starred John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda as bounty-hunting trio Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine — dropped on Nov. 19, 2021, and was axed just three weeks later on Dec. 9. At the time of the cancellation, co-executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach said the adaptation “came from a real and pure place of respect and affection” for the original series.
“I wish we could make what we planned for a second season, but you know what they say, men plan, god laughs,” he continued, later adding that he and the writers “had so much cool s–t planned” for a potential Season 2.
I guess he’s one of them right wing racist bigots…
That’s a joke right? This dude is one of the most qualified people to make this comment and he isn’t wrong.
Pretty sure it was a joke.
You can never tell these days, people like that are everywhere now.
Some things are so far out there nowadays, you really can’t. But I’d bet money on it being commentary on the defense of how everyone who didn’t like the show only did because of what he described. Though if he had wanted to hammer the point of sarcasm home I guess he could have called them “White right wing….etc” which would have made it even more obvious the non-American Japanese creator wasn’t disliking the show for those reasons.
I’m pretty sure he was referring to the fact that if you complain about anything that has PoC everyone assumes your a racist bigot automatically and your opinion and comment are based on racism instead of legitimate criticism.
Am I the only person who thought this show was okay? I never saw the anime, so maybe I’m not hip enough, but I just don’t get the universal hatred. :-?
You answered yourself. It’s an Hollywood trend to take a beloved property because of the appeal the name carries, then do something completely different and expect fans to worship it (cause you “updated it for a modern audience”). From Lord of the Rings to Scooby Doo, to this.
We should all be thankfull to Cowboy Bebop series for taking Yoko Kanno back on the desk, gracing us with new music.It was learly something very different from the original series, it did not have the original depth
I hadnt seen the original. But i liked the netflix show. It was fun and quirky. Cho particularly was awesome. I was sad it was cancelled
I disagree the show was great actors were great sad to say it wasn’t a good show i loved it. ps japanese people alway think what they make is the best because it’s original. unless its European than they love it.
I’m a big fan of Watanabe’s work: The original Cowboy Bebop, Cowboy Bebop the movie, and Samurai Champloo are all amazing. However, this is an incredibly disingenuous comment from the person who himself took loads of creative liberties with his own interpretation of the source material for The Animatrix, and Blade Runner Blackout 2022. No, the Netflix live action Bebop isn’t a remake of the anime, it’s a different take, a different creative direction. While I love the original, I’m very disappointed this wasn’t renewed as I like it for what it is.
Today is March 5th 2023 and I am on episode 7. I own the DVD anime series and anime movie, but I have to say I really love this live action series. Yes there are some differences, but that is expected, the cast really works for me and the subtle changes made from anime to live action are perfect as to make this version it’s own. To bad Netflix couldn’t bring us season 2. I wonder if John Cho could pull a Seth MacFarlane and find some other financial support for a season 2 & 3 or a movie at least. This show could easily become a classic series. Long live the BeeBop. See You Space Cowboy.