The first images of Spike, Jet, and Faye from Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation give some clues as to how the show will translate its source material's indelible style. The original Cowboy Bebop anime began its 26-episode run in 1998, and despite the fact that the initial Japanese run was interrupted on account of objections to its violent content, it has gone on to receive massive acclaim and popularity. Netflix's version premiers on November 19th.
The adaptation will be written in part by Christopher Yost, whose résumé includes The Mandalorian, as well as a wealth of work for Marvel, both in comics and in the MCU for Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. The show also brought in original series director Shinichirō Watanabe as a creative consultant, while Yoko Kanno, who was responsible for the original's eclectic and iconic score, has returned to compose. Netflix's new images of Cowboy Bebop feature three of the show's main characters: John Cho's Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir's Jet Black, and Daniella Pineda's Faye Valentine. Vicious, to be played by Alex Hassell, is not pictured, nor is Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivruski IV, whose actress has not yet been announced. Beloved hyper-intelligent Corgi Ein, however, can be seen trotting through one of the stills.
Not much can be gleaned in the way of story treatment, with the cold, neon ambiance and grungy interior of the Bebop providing the best hints of the world. Instead, much more focus is placed on the actors. One of the main takeaways from the first look at the trio is the costuming, which, with regards to Spike and Jet, shows a high level of fidelity to the originals. Conversely, the biggest change revealed (thus far) is certainly Faye's outfit, which is significantly less revealing and more grounded than its anime counterpart. The franchise already has a fortunate history of adaptation, as Cowboy Bebop's English dub has acquired a reputation as one of anime's greatest, and while the argument could be made that the original outfit played into Faye's character to a degree, the creatives behind Netflix's adaptation seem to have leaned into this pedigree of translation and made the reasonable decision to update a design that wouldn't work as well in live action, and also would likely not work with the sensibilities of large swaths of its global audience. As writer Javier Grillo-Marxuach said to io9, "we need to have a real human being wearing that," after all.
With ten hour-long episodes and whispers of a second season, the Netflix show will no doubt take a different route to the conclusion of the Cowboy Bebop anime, if indeed that is even where it ends up. Though it seems most likely the show will follow its predecessor loyally where it can, the different medium change can allow for story alterations, and this could indeed encourage higher viewer rates, as those who weren't inclined to watch a live-action remake could be invested in altered or new plots.
However, the visual style of these stills - and specifically the changes to certain characters' outfits and the lack thereof to others' - is encouraging, because they suggest not only the ability to honor the acclaimed source material (the cathedral in which Spike fights Vicious is teased in one image), but also a willingness to alter things when necessary in order to bring the ineffable cool of Cowboy Bebop into a whole new medium.