6 Things Netflix’s Live-Action Cowboy Bebop Remake Must Do
I’m not going to Netflix to die. I’m going to find out if I’m really alive.
Netflix have recently announced a live-action remake of the 1997 anime Cowboy Bebop, and reception has been mixed to say the least. On one hand, it’s incredibly exciting to think that there’ll be new, fresh stories involving the likes of Spike and Faye, with debates already swirling about dream casting. But on the other hand, anime to live action is not a path paved with gold. A bad remake could ruin the chances of an anime reboot, Blu-ray update or any future releases from the show.
Netflix has a few clunkers in its back catalogue, and brilliant sci-fi shows are few and far between. While there are the obvious reasons to be concerned (Westernisation, poor casting, changing core characters, ignoring the source material...), there are a lot of reasons to be excited too. And if it’s terrible, at least the original will still be there to enjoy.
But let’s be optimistic. The show might very well be not terrible, it might even be great. As long as Netflix gets a few basic things right in the live action version, they can satiate at least some of the fan base.
6. Character Over Set Pieces
While the original had some action sequences, most of the time was spent building up character. Spike, Jet, Faye, Ed and even Ein all felt like family by the end of the show’s original run. The problem with a live-action version is that it invites comparison, and every fan will remember their favourite differently. It’s possible (likely, really) that Netflix’s Faye could be perfect for some viewers and utterly wrong for others.
However, the show must still be built around them. Though action will obviously feature with fight scenes, chase sequences and gunplay scattered in there, character must be at the heart. As there are only ten episodes to build these characters, we must feel like we know them a little better by the end of each one.
It remains to be seen whether we’ll get updated versions of the original plot or totally new stories involving old, familiar characters. But however it’s done, what makes Cowboy Bebop special was the cast. A remake invites all sorts of pressure that an original series would not. In order to make the most of that, Netflix must keep character development at the forefront.