Netflix's Live-Action 'Cowboy Bebop' Has Already Started Planning Season 2
Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop has had a rocky road to the small screen, with production shutdowns due to injuries sustained by star John Cho and now the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But that hasn't stopped writer and executive producer Jeff Pinkner (Lost, Fringe) from keeping his eye on the yet-unconfirmed second season. The live-action adaptation of Shinichir? Watanabe's classic space opera anime hasn't even finished production of its first season, but Pinkner has revealed that he's already begun plans for Cowboy Bebop season 2.
The forced shutterings of productions all across the world have fans worrying whether we'll ever see some of the most anticipated movies and TV shows. But that's one thing we won't apparently have to worry about with Netflix's Cowboy Bebop. Writer and executive producer Jeff Pinkner confirmed that he and his team have aready started planning season 2, despite the first season's frequently-halted production.
"I think that I'm very excited by our opportunity to take this iconic anime and bring it to life," Pinkner told Observer before heading off to a "notes call" on the script for Season 2. Pinkner added:
"I think that our actors are spectacular. The world that we're creating down in New Zealand that we're excited to get back to as soon as we can is a really fun, dynamic visualization of this insane anime. I think that because we have these hour-long episodes, we have an opportunity to take the anime and sort of like just deepen and dimensionalize the source material. Really tell stories set in that world in a way that hopefully will not only delight the fans of anime but expose a whole bunch of new people to the world of Cowboy Bebop, the awesome work of Yoko Kanno. It's a delight. It's entirely different from Lost in every way but it's been a joy."
That's a relief to hear for fans who have been eagerly anticipating the live-action adaptation of the beloved anime series, which set off a ton of buzz when John Cho was cast in the lead role. However, the series seemed to be plagued by production problems — first, shooting was halted for seven to nine months due to a knee injury suffered by Cho, and soon after, Netflix shut down all its productions amid coronavirus concerns. It's uncertain when Cowboy Bebop, and any film and TV series, can resume production.