Nearly three months have passed since Netflix canceled its live-action Cowboy Bebop series. And while both Mustafa Shakir (Jet Black) and Daniella Pineda (Faye Valentine) shared lengthy responses to the news via social media almost instantly, John Cho (who headlined the show as Spike Spiegel) has mostly kept quiet. Cho previously acknowledged the series’ cancellation by posting a Friends gif on Twitter the day it was announced. However, he finally opened up about Cowboy Bebop’s fate during a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Cho was discussing his new middle-grade novel, Troublemaker, when Cowboy Bebop inevitably came up. He confessed that Netflix’s decision surprised him, even if the series did receive mostly negative reviews upon its release. Regardless, the show still managed to find a fanbase, and Cho sounds grateful to anyone who tuned in.
“It was very shocking and I was bummed,” said Cho. “But I was very warmed by the response. I wish I could have contacted everybody and gotten hugs. You can’t do that now, but … I don’t know what this is. I’m mystified a little bit about how you can connect with people that you don’t know doing your work, but I won’t question it. I will value it and treasure it. I’m just really deeply appreciative that anyone would care. It’s stunning to me.”
RELATED: Netflix Cancels Cowboy Bebop After One Season
Bringing Spike to life wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Cho. In late 2019, he tore his ACL during Cowboy Bebop’s production, forcing the shoot to go on hiatus for several months while he recovered. So naturally, going through all that trouble only to see it come to an abrupt end must have been difficult for him to accept.
“I put a lot of my life into it,” added Cho. “I’d gotten injured shooting that show and so I took a year off because of the surgery and devoted myself to rehab, came back and finished the show. It was this huge mountain for me to climb, healing from that injury. I felt good about myself as a result. We also shot the show in New Zealand, so my family moved there. It was just a huge event in my life and it was suddenly over.”
Do you think Netflix should have given Cowboy Bebop another chance? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Cowboy Bebop: The Anime TV Series and Movie: Pocket Guide
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