Netflix Announces Initial Cast for Live-Action Reboot of ‘Cowboy Bebop’

John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassell join cast of the all-new live-action series based on the original Japanese anime series directed by Shinichiro Watanabe.

L to R: Spike Spiegel, Faye Valentine and Jet Black jockey for position in director Shinichiro Watanabe beloved anime series ‘Cowboy Bebop.’

Streaming giant Netflix has announced the initial cast members for its upcoming live-action reboot of beloved anime series Cowboy Bebop.

Based on the worldwide phenomenon from Sunrise Inc., Cowboy Bebop is the jazz-inspired, genre-bending story of a rag-tag crew of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals. They’ll even save the world… for the right price.

John Cho has been cast as Spike Spiegel, alongside Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine, and notorious Syndicate hitman Vicious will be played by Alex Hassell. Radical Ed will reportedly be hacking in but that role is still to be cast, and so far there’s nary a mention of loveable corgi Ein.

Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of the original anime, is serving as a consultant on the new series, which is co-produced by Netflix and Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios), with Netflix handling physical production.

The first installment of the 10-episode series will be written by executive producer Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok); Alex Garcia Lopez (The Witcher; Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s The Punisher; Utopia) will direct the first two episodes.

Showrunners/Executive Producers are Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg of Midnight Radio. Executive producers are Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios (Snowpiercer, Hanna); Yasuo Miyakawa, Masayuki Ozaki, and Shin Sasaki of Sunrise Inc; Tetsu Fujimura and Matthew Weinberg.

See below for the list of cast members who have been confirmed to date. For extended character descriptions, visit NXonNetflix.

JOHN CHO (Star Trek, Searching) as Spike Spiegel

Spike Spiegel is 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 (Marvel’s Luke Cage) as Jet Black

Jet Black was 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 (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; What/If) as Faye Valentine

Faye Valentine is 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 (The Red Sea Diving Resort; Suburbicon) as 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.

Source: Netflix

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.