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April 4 (UPI) -- John Cho, Mustafa Shakir and Daniella Pineda have been cast in Netflix's upcoming, live-action adaptation of anime series Cowboy Bebop. Cho is set to portray main character Spike Spiegel, a suave bounty hunter who teams up with Shakir's Jet Black, an ex cop and captain of the spaceship Bebop.
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Pineda will be seen as Faye Valentine, a con artist suffering from memory loss who joins Spike and Jet on their bounty hunting adventures through space. Alex Hassell has also been cast as the villainous Vicious, Spike's ex-partner.
Cho is best known for appearing in the rebooted Star Trek franchise along with the Harold and Kumar films. He will next be seen in Jordan Peele's Twilight Zone and Netflix's Tigertail. Shakir appeared as Bushmaster in Season 2 of Luke Cage and Pineda is known for starring in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Netflix first announced they were developing a live-actions series based on the fan-favorite anime of the same name in November.
Cowboy Bebop was first released in Japan in 1998 before becoming a worldwide hit and ran for 26 episodes. A film which took place in-between episodes of the series, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, was released in Japan in 2001 before hitting the U.S. in 2003.The anime was known for its thumping jazz soundtrack, colorful characters, futuristic world, and high-octane action scenes that switched between space and marital arts battles.
Alex Garcia Lopez, who has helmed episodes of Daredevil, Luke Cage and Cloak and Dagger, is directing the first two episodes in the 10-episode series. Christopher Yost penned the first installment.
Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg of Midnight Radio are serving as showrunners and executive producers. Watanabe, who directed the anime series, is acting as a consultant.
