John Cho’s Injury on Cowboy Bebop Set Puts Production on Hold for 7-9 Months

Unfortunate news for those waiting for the live-action Cowboy Bebop: Netflix has announced last Saturday that production for their live-action adaptation of Bebop will be put on hold after a “freak accident” on set left lead star John Cho injured.

According to the streaming company’s statement, the accident occurred “on the last take of a routine and well-rehearsed scene” almost two weeks ago. Cho sustained knee injury which requires surgery and extensive rehabilitation, and he has been flown back to the United States to recuperate fully.

While it is an option to recast the role as they had started filming ahead of schedule, Netflix is apparently set on Cho for the title role and are willing to wait for him to fully heal. As such, production for Bebop will be shuttered for 7-9 months and could possibly resume by late spring/early summer.

After news of his injury broke out, Cho posted an update on Instagram, thanking fans and well-wishers. He also promised to be “back and flowing in no time”, referencing a Bruce Lee quote that he also captioned to his post. You can see the post here.

Besides Cho, Bebop also stars Mustafa Shakir as Spike’s partner Jet Black, Daniella Pineda as amnesiac con-artist Faye Valentine, Elena Satine as Spike’s lover Julia, and Alex Hassell as Vicious, Spike’s best-friend-turned-mortal-enemy.

Alex Garcia Lopez, who directed Daredevil and The Witcher, is on board to direct the first two episodes of Bebop. Described by Netflix as a “Live-action TV drama”, Cowboy Bebop is slated to run for 10 episodes. No release date has been announced yet.

The live-action adaptation is a co-production between Netflix and Tomorrow Studios, which is a partnership between producer Marty Adelstein (Teen Wolf, Prison Break) and British production company ITV Studios. The original anime’s director, Shinichi Watanabe, will be serving as consultant for the Netflix adaptation. Key staff from Sunrise, the anime studio that produced the original series, will also be serving as the show’s executive producers along with other Western producers.

Cowboy Bebop follows the story of Spike Spiegel and his crew aboard the spaceship Bebop. The series is mostly about their crew’s adventures in hunting down space criminals and turning them in for a reward. The story’s main conflict, however, centers on the rivalry between Spike and his former best friend Vicious, with the former seeking to avenge the death of the woman he loved.

Source: Deadline