The director of the classic ’90s anime Cowboy Bebop, Shinichirō Watanabe, revealed in a recent interview that he hopes to one day make live-action.
When asked if he ever wanted to direct a live-action film in a Full Frontal interview, Watanabe replied: “I do, but I don’t really have any chance… Or rather I had a chance, but never got the chance.” happened. We don’t have money, can’t find actors, there are many reasons… But if there’s another chance, I’ll take it. I’ve always dreamed of doing live-action, and at first, I was really hesitant between doing live-action and animation. I finally decided to do animation, and my dream almost came true (laughs), so now I only have to do live-action.”
Shinichirō Watanabe’s anime career
Watanabe has become one of the most recognized anime directors throughout his career, with Cowboy Bebop being his most famous work among Western fans. However, Watanabe has directed many anime including Samurai Champloo, Terror In Resonance, Space Dandy, Carole & Tuesday and Kids On The Slope. He is famous for producing games with epic soundtracks, intense battle scenes, engaging narratives, and engaging characters.
Watanabe’s most famous work, Cowboy Bebop, is a space western that follows a group of lowly bounty hunters as they try to make a quick buck. The anime series was produced by Sunrise (now known as Bandai Namco Filmworks), and aired from 1998 to 1999 with a total of 26 episodes. The series was heavily influenced by American westerns and film noir, becoming especially popular in the US and heavily influencing the growing popularity of anime in Western countries. In 2021, Netflix released a 10-episode live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation. The live-action series disappointed many Cowboy Bebop fans, and Watanabe himself refused to watch it.
Watanabe’s latest anime project, Lazarus, released its first trailer in July. The new series takes place in 2052 and tells the story of five agents trying to find a vaccine for the miracle drug attributed to Dr. Skinner, the drug was later found to be poisonous. If a vaccine is not found in time, everyone who takes the medicine will die. The trailer reveals that Lazarus is being produced by MAPPA (Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack On Titan) and will be released on Adult Swim’s Toonami. Currently, no voice actors have been announced and a release date has not been set.
While there has been no announcement of Watanabe making a live-action film in the near future, it seems like he would do so if given the chance: “I want to do something international. If there are any sponsors willing to sponsor it, please get in touch. (laugh)”
The Cowboy Bebop anime is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
Source: Full Frontal
