John Cho to star in ‘Cowboy Bebop’ as Spike Siegel

John Cho is to play confident, swashbuckling bounty hunter Spike in a new “Cowboy Bebop”. Image: AFP/JB Lacroix

“Star Trek” actor John Cho is to lead Netflix’s live-action series adaptation of hit sci-fi animé “Cowboy Bebop” in which he will be joined by Alex Hassel, Daniella Pineda and Mustafa Shakir.

In a future where the earth has been effectively destroyed in an unfortunate accident and humanity has been scattered to the stars, Siegel and his motley crew travel throughout the solar system, tracking criminals and attempting to outwit deadly rival and Red Dragon Syndicate associate Vicious.

Cho will be joined onboard the spaceship Bebop by Shakir (“The Deuce,” “Luke Cage”) as ex-space cop Jet Black and Pineda (“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”) as scam artist Faye Valentine.

British actor Alex Hassell, previously seen in “Suburbicon”, British comedy “Bonkers”, and episodes of the “Genius” Picasso season, is in place to play Vicious over the course of the 10-episode adaptation.

Casting news does not yet extend to two other traditional Bebop crew members, talented female hacker Edward Wong and adorable intelligent corgi dog Ein.

Playing out like a space western with elements of film noir, comedy, and philosophical isolation mixed in, late 1990s Japanese cartoon series “Cowboy Bebop” became an international success, frequently cited as an essential animé show and even credited with introducing the genre as a whole to cable TV United States audiences.

Christopher Yost, who was involved in writing screenplays for “Thor: The Dark World” and “Thor: Ragnarok”, as well as numerous superhero cartoons, is the Netflix show’s head writer; Alex Garcia Lopez of Netflix’s “Daredevil”, “The Punisher” and upcoming “The Witcher” adaptation, has been attached to direct. JB

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