Netflix has unveiled their teaser trailer for the upcoming live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, and my goodness, they aren’t messing around. The John Cho-starring take on the ridiculously beloved, cult-classic anime couldn’t be more visually striking. These few minutes absolutely nail the the spirit of the source material; and there’s such an action-focused, aesthetic punch that it’s actually difficult to behold during the traditional early-morning trailer-release hours. Sensory overload, man. In other words, they’ve nailed it. Bounty hunting never looked so stylish.
If you’re not even an anime fan but adore the ultra-stylized feel of, say, Scott Pilgrim or Sin City, you’ll like what you see here. And even the most casual Quentin Tarantino fan will also enjoy how this teaser — actually a standalone adventure-episode (which won’t appear in the series) called The Lost Session — looks and feels. The saturated colors and the shooting angles and the dialogue, it’s all a perfect manifestation and a means to take viewers on a ride. That ride will leave you feeling like you’re barely clinging to the back of this vehicle while it careens down the street, all while Spike Spiegel (Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) solidly kick some ass while dodging death and chasing bounties.
Here’s the official series synopsis:
COWBOY BEBOP is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka “cowboys,” all trying to outrun the past. As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals — for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them.
Cowboy Bebop streams on November 19.
