Cowboy Bebop was originally a Japanese animated science-fiction series that was created by Hajime Yatate and ran for 26 episodes from 1998 to 1999. This was later dubbed in English and released in the United States and several other English-speaking countries internationally. It became the first anime title to be broadcast on Adult Swim in the United States in 2001. Due to the success of the animated series, it was decided to create a live-action version of Cowboy Bebop, and this news was first announced in 2017. The development of this series is a collaboration between Marty Adelstein and Sunrise, Inc. for Tomorrow Studios. Christopher Yost was hired to write the series.
Netflix announced in November 2018 that the live-action series was heading to its streaming service. This news was followed five months later by the information that the actors playing the lead roles would include John Cho, Daniella Pineda, Mustafa Shakir, and Alex Hassell. In August 2019, it was also announced that Elena Statine was joining the cast to play the role of Julia. With the cast and production team in place, production of the series began, but it came to an abrupt halt within months when production ceased in October 2019. Looper has reported that the reason behind this is that John Cho has suffered a knee injury.
Just two weeks into filming, things started to go wrong when John Cho was involved in a freak accident. They had only completed a couple of the planned 10 episodes at the time of the accident, so production was nowhere near complete. John Cho is a Korean American actor who is known for his roles in ‘Columbus’, the ‘Harold & Kumar’ films, and the ‘Star Trek’ reboot film series. In Cowboy Bebop, he is playing Spike Spiegel a former hitman who is now a bounty hunter. While filming in New Zealand, Cho suffered a serious injury to his knee. The exact nature of the accident and injury are unknown. However, it is believed that he wasn’t performing a wild stunt when it happened.
When it happened, Cho was filming the last take of a scene, which he had rehearsed many times. Immediately after suffering the injury, the actor was flown back to Los Angeles. It is believed that he will now need surgery to correct the injury to his knee, and this will be followed by extensive rehabilitation to get him back on his feet. Suffering such a debilitating injury during production is a horrible experience for Cho, especially seeing as how it happened so early on in production. The incident has left everyone what will happen now that production has been cut so abruptly short.
It was initially speculated that Netflix would replace John Cho in the role of Spike Spiegel. This could make sense as reshooting the early scenes is much quicker and potentially less expensive than waiting for Cho’s recovery. However, It seems that Cho’s role is secure, and Netflix has said that they are fully committed to keeping him as one of the lead characters in Cowboy Bebop and in supporting his recovery. Netflix is being so supportive of Cho and making sure he fully recovers from the injury that they have said they will hold off from resuming production until early summer 2020. They want to make sure that Cho has time to make a full recovery. Although this might cause some logistical problems, Netflix has said they are happy to deal with them. A spokesperson for the streaming service said that their thoughts are with Cho and they would like to offer their complete support during his recuperation.
Due to his injury, it is expected that John Cho will need between seven and nine months to recover and get back to work. Cho posted on his Instagram page to let people know what had happened and that he hoped it wouldn’t be too long before he could get back to work. He also thanked his followers for their support and well wishes. It is unclear what will happen with the production of Cowboy Bebop during Cho’s recovery period. They have not made it clear whether they will continue to film any scenes in which Cho does not appear or if the series is now in limbo. It is also not clear whether the other lead actors in the series are free to pursue other projects until production resumes. However, Netflix has made it clear that the series is not being canceled and that production will definitely resume as soon as possible.
Bizarrely, there is a chance that the break in production could benefit the series for several reasons. First, it is possible that the series was only on the radar of people who were fans of the original anime. Cho’s accident has brought the series to the attention of the media, which means that awareness of the series has been raised. In turn, this could attract a whole new audience to the live-action remake.
It is also possible that the break could give the production team the chance to fine-tune the details of the series and make some improvements. For example, writer Christopher Yost now has more time to go over the script and make some changes before production resumes. This means the script could have a more polished finish. As the accident happened so early in production, there is now plenty of room to refine the action, tweak the narrative, and flesh out the characters.
For now, fans of the anime who were looking forward to the release of the live-action remake will have to wait and see what happens. The delays in production mean an indefinite delay in the release of the series, so nobody is yet clear when Cowboy Bebop will become available on Netflix. Until then, it is only hoped that John Cho can make a full recovery and get back on set as soon as possible.
Follow Us
