Tomorrow Studios, Marty Adelstein’s joint venture with ITV Studios, is developing a live-action adaptation of the cult Japanese animated series Cowboy Bebop. Tomorrow Studios has teamed on the project with Midnight Radio (Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg), who will executive produce alongside Sunrise, the studio behind the original series; Tomorrow Studios’ Adelstein (Good Behavior, Prison Break) and Becky Clements (Good Behavior, Aquarius); as well as Matthew Weinberg. Chris Yost (Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok), who started his career writing for comic book-based animated series before segueing to features, will pen the adaptation.
The space Western story follows Spike Spiegel and his rag-tag crew of bounty hunters, or Cowboys, as they try to capture the galaxy’s worst criminals and survive the unexpected dangers they encounter throughout space, sometimes saving the world in the process but always leaving millions in damages.
Cowboy Bebop, considered one of the best anime series of all time, produced 26 episodes, which aired in Japan from 1998-1999. It has done well internationally, garnering several anime and science fiction awards, and is credited with helping to introduce anime to a new wave of Western viewers. In the U.S., it aired on Adult Swim.
“We are excited to work with Sunrise in bringing this beloved anime to the U.S. and global marketplace as a live-action series,” said Adelstein. “The animated version has long resonated with audiences worldwide, and with the continued, ever growing, popularity of anime, we believe a live action version will have an incredible impact today.”
Tomorrow Studios has another U.S. TV adaptation of a popular Asian genre title, South Korean movie Snowpiercer, which has a pilot order at TNT.
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