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Anime director Shinichir Watanabe is a legend who has consistently bridged the gap between his niche medium and the mainstream. Thanks to seminal hits like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, and more, Watanabe has established a prestigious reputation even simply when his name is attached. But it's more than a sterling mark of quality connecting these series, with a recent Anime News Network interview highlighting how he believes all of his series, including Lazarus, are connected.

Lazarus, slated for a 2025 release, is Watanabe's latest project and boasts many similar qualities in common with Cowboy Bebop, down to its choreographed action. With the amazing help of star directors like Chad Stahelski, Kamasi Washington, Floating Points, and Bonobo creating the music and animation by Mappa, the series is primed to go down among the greats like all the rest. But with Watanabe's take on his collective works, it might be worth...

With many of the most beloved anime films of the 1980s and 1990s being scattered, difficult to track down, or even outright unavailable, the latest news about Ninja Scroll coming to Hidive is a welcome development. According to a recent Hidive press release from November 6, 2024, Ninja Scroll will be available to watch on-demand via the streaming service on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at noon Edt. For fans of boundary-pushing anime from a different era, Ninja Scroll is commonly considered among the best films of the 1990s and a must-watch for fans of the classics.

Ninja Scroll follows rogue ninja Kibagami Jubei as he fights to stop the Devils of Kimon from overthrowing the Japanese government of the Edo period. Jubei is aided by Tokugawa Shogunate spy Dakuan and Kga kunoichi Kagero. The film is animated by Madhouse and received a follow-up anime, Ninja Scroll: The Series, in 2003 for one season, yet it...

Iconic Events Releasing, in collaboration with Bandai/Namco, has announced the addition of several Mobile Suit Gundam films to the Ax Cinema Nights 2024/2025 lineup.

The screenings will include the three compilation movies of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack. All four films are a part of Gundam’s Universal Century timeline, and form the backbone of the series which has spawned multiple spin-offs and Au narratives. Check out the watch order for Gundam below!

Related:

Gundam Watch Order: The Complete & Easy Guide To Watch The Mecha Anime Series!

These films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles and will begin screening this October, continuing into April 2025.

Check out the screening details below:

1. Mobile Suit Gundam (Toho)

Screening Dates: Oct 2, 2024 (sub), Oct 6, 2024 (encore screening)

In Universal Century year 0078, the space colony Side 3 declares itself the Principality of Zeon and launches a...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Film at Lincoln Center

An essential retrospective of Brazil’s L.C. Barreto Productions begins.

Roxy Cinema

Another Woman and The Lords of Flatbush play on 35mm.

Museum of the Moving Image

A retrospective of the Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden begins; The Gleaners and I plays on Saturday; Speed Racer shows on Sunday.

Anthology Film Archives

An honestly titled retrospective, “Essential/Unessential Warhol,” begins.

Film Forum

A Spielberg retrospective begins, featuring E.T. on 35mm; Army of Shadows continues and West Side Story plays on Sunday.

Museum of Modern Art

“Paramount in the 1970s” includes films by Warren Beatty, Elaine May, and Peter Bogdanovich.

IFC Center

Rosemary’s Baby and a 40th-anniversary restoration of Paris, Texas play daily; Caligula: The Ultimate Cut and The Conversation continue; Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Hostel, The Goonies, Mute Witness, and The Vanishing play late.

Metrograph

The Seventh Seal,...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.

Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research

My screening series Amnesiascope partners again with Rohmer Fits for an encore presentation of Éric Rohmer shorts on Sunday.

Paris Theater

“Big & Loud!” returns with 70mm prints of Vertigo, Phantom Thread, and Boogie Nights, along with The Abyss, Close Encounters, and films by Don Hertzfeldt.

Bam

The controversial, remarkable The Spook Who Sat By the Door continues in a new restoration.

Roxy Cinema

Amalia Ulman has programmed prints of If… and The Holy Girl; “Explosive Cinema” offers First Reformed and The Battle of Algiers.

Film at Lincoln Center

As an essential restoration of Shinji Somai’s Moving continues, The Stranger and the Fog begins a run.

Museum of the Moving Image

Speed Racer and A Silent Voice have screenings.

Anthology Film Archives

Films by Buñuel, Chaplin, and Cocteau screen in “Essential Cinema“; Funeral Parade of Roses shows this Friday.

Ax Cinema Nights 2024 will feature new films, old favorites, and a Japanese group concert. Tickets for all programs in Ax Cinema Nights 2024 are now available for purchase online. Ax Cinema Nights 2024 is poised to be the best iteration of the event yet.

For the past two years, Anime Expo has been sponsoring Ax Cinema Nights, an event where anime films both old and new are brought to theaters for a limited-time viewing. Great films such as A Silent Voice and the entire film catalog of the legendary Satoshi Kon have been part of the event, and because of that, its quickly become an iconic part of the community.

Ax Cinema Nights has always been a great way for people to see quality anime films, and 2024 will be no different in that regard. The lineup for Ax Cinema Nights 2024 was previously announced at Anime Expo 2024 to feature films that are new to the program,...

Los Angeles, CA – Iconic Events Releasing, a company specializing in distributing limited engagement theatrical events to movie theatres, has announced an extraordinary lineup of acclaimed classic anime films scheduled to screen across the U.S. and select cities in Canada as part of the latest edition of Anime Expo Cinema Nights (“Ax Cinema Nights”). These immersive, experiential community screenings commence in September and continue into Q2 of 2025. Subtitled and dubbed screenings will be presented for most titles. Each film will be shown in more than 500 theatres throughout North America.

This season's Ax Cinema Nights program includes some of the most influential anime films ever made. The lineup includes the 30th anniversary theatrical release the acclaimed samurai period action adventure, Ninja Scroll, the futurist cyberpunk mindbender, Metropolis 2001, based on a story by the “Godfather of Manga,” Osamu Tezuka, a special 15th Anniversary 4K restoration of director Satoshi Kon's groundbreaking anime,...

This article is part of IndieWire’s 2000s Week celebration. Click here for a whole lot more.

The 2000s were a period of great technological change for anime. The DVD boom brought the industry to the West like never before (while inspiring Western money along with it), and traditional cel animation began to be entirely taken over by digital painting while many artists continued exploring the possibilities of CGI; according to “Anime: A History” author Jonathan Clements, the last cel-animated anime was “Sazae–san“ in 2007.

There was certainly a lot to like, as so many new and vastly influential creators were taking their first steps into the industry. In 2002, the great Makoto Shinkai created “Voices of a Distant Star” almost entirely on his own. Elsewhere, Hayao Miyazaki won anime’s first Oscar for “Spirited Away,” while the late Satoshi Kon fully emerged as one of the world’s best and most...

"Cowboy Bebop" is a masterpiece, lightning in a bottle, one of a kind, and every other superlative compliment you can throw its way. The series, produced by anime studio Sunrise as a spaceship toy cash grab and elevated by its creative team (from director Shinichirō Watanabe to composer Yoko Kanno), earns all the fond memories it has created.

The most talked about strengths of the series include Kanno's jazzy musical score, the heartbreaking loneliness of its characters, the impeccable title sequence "Tank!" and the way different episodes dance across different genres. ("Cowboy Bebop" is a title that evokes the series' vibe.) The many American "Cowboy Bebop" fans also fondly recall the show's English dub, which set a new bar for international anime dubbing.

The quiet moments of "Cowboy Bebop" are often the most effective. (The 2021 live-action version from Netflix failed to realize that dialogue is not the show's engine or beating heart.

Spy x Family Movie Code: White emphasizes family bonds amidst thrilling action and comedy sequences. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro showcases impressive animation and thrilling heist adventures. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie features intense action similar to what Loid and Yor go through in Code: White to save Anya on a burning airship.

Spy x Family has been a smash hit since its premiere in 2022. Twilight, the greatest spy in Westalis, is tasked with forming a fake family to infiltrate the neighboring country, Ostania. Under his new identity as Loid Forger, he winds up recruiting assassin Yor as his wife and telepath Anya as his daughter, with all three of them hiding their true identities from their new family.

Spy x Family Code: White is the franchise's first movie, and it sees the Forger family taking a vacation to the wintry region of Frigis, only to get caught up in...

McDonald's embraces anime culture with its new promotion, changing its brand to that of its anime counterpart, WcDonald's. Studio Pierrot will produce a WcDonald's anime series with original characters in the form of weekly shorts. Exclusive extras like Savory Chili WcDonald's Sauce and manga adaptations on takeout bags add to the excitement.

The anime counterpart to McDonald's is officially coming to life in an incredible promotional campaign. It's fairly common in anime to see a knockoff version of a popular store or restaurant appear in various series to avoid copyright issues. However, no other chain has been spoofed more than McDonald's by renaming the popular fast food place to "WcDonald's" or similar names in several popular shows and movies including InuYasha, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and Assassination Classroom. Now, McDonald's is officially joining in on the fun with a fantastic promotion that will bring the infamous restaurant spoof to life.

The best science fiction anime movies have had a lasting impact, influencing new creations and resonating with audiences. Ghost in the Shell, Redline, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, and Paprika are standout examples of science fiction anime. Akira is not only one of the best sci-fi anime movies but also one of the most influential movies of all time, shaping the cyberpunk subgenre and inspiring numerous artists.

The best science fiction anime movies exploded onto the scene when they premiered and remain popular today. Portraying many possible futures and exploring the relationship of humans to each other, technology, and all that’s new and unfamiliar, they tell fans plenty about the state of the present as well as society's hopes and fears for tomorrow.

The best science fiction anime, at the very least, make waves through the world of film and anime when they hit the scene. At their very best,...

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie will be shown in over 300 theaters in the U.S. for three days only, from January 21 to January 23, as part of Anime Expoìs Cinema Night series. The movie takes place during the timeline of the anime series and focuses on a high-stakes bounty case that the crew of the Bebop must solve. Fans appreciate the movie's cool vibe and how it enhances the anime experience with better animation, storytelling, and mesmerizing music.

As part of its Cinema Night series, Anime Expo (Ax) is bringing back Cowboy Bebop: The Movie later this month for a limited time in select theaters across the United States. This will be only the fourth time the jazz-noir, cult classic film has been made available to watch in American theaters, with the most recent showing having come way back in 2018.

As revealed in a recent post on the X account of @ICONICEventsNow,...

Movies that spawn from anime series tend to be a mixed bag in terms of quality, since the fact that they mostly function as episodes with bigger duration has frequently proven an issue. This however, is not the case with “Cowboy Bepop the Movie” with director Shinichiro Watanabe following the recipe of the original, iconic series, which aimed at each episode functioning as a short movie. The result, in a story that is placed between episodes 22 and 23 of “Cowboy Bepop”, is exceptional, with the movie being of at least equal quality with the series.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Sony Pictures) Screens Jan. 21st (sub), Jan. 22nd (sub), Jan 23rd (encore of choice), courtesy of Ax Cinema Nights and Iconic Events Releasing

The movie starts nicely with Spike and Jet apprehending a bunch of robbers with their usual coolness and style. Faye Valentine on the other hand, is on the heels of a hacker,...

Iconic Events Releasing, a company specializing in distributing special engagement theatrical events to theatres, brings the action and bold visual storytelling of anime to the big screen as it announces a slate of upcoming nationwide theatrical events for the latest installment of Ax Cinema Nights. A different acclaimed anime feature will be screened at over 300 theatre locations across the country beginning in September 2023 and continuing through February 2024.

Celebrated films will include a Satoshi Kon Film Festival that will screen the legendary Director's most renowned anime feature films as well as a special presentation of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Subtitled and dubbed screenings are scheduled.

Ax Cinema Nights is a year-round movie event series celebrating the best new and classic anime films by bringing them to theaters across North America. It provides the passionate fan community with immersive and unforgettable experiences beyond the annual Anime Expo.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Sony Pictures)

Screens Jan.

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door – or "The Movie" outside Japan – is an underrated work of art only marred by a few narrative blemishes. The fact it doesn't appear in conversations about the series shouldn't be taken as a sign that the film was a disaster. While it doesn't hit the same emotional highs as the TV show's best episodes, the movie does deliver some of the best action scenes in animated history.

While it's easy to disregard the movie as a quick tie-in to bring in a few extra dollars out of the Cowboy Bebop anime, thinking it's sloppy or uninspired would be a disservice to both. The movie, created by staff from Sunrise, Bones, and Bandai Visual, is bursting with quality visuals. Its only weakness is a plot that lacks the same charisma and imagination that the original TV series had in spades.

Related: Cowboy Bebop Anime Studio...

Five classic anime films, including the long-absent Cowboy Bebop movie, are returning to US theaters, many for the first time in ages. The films include three beloved classics from the late genius Satoshi Kon as well as two other staples of anime fandom in the lates '90s and 2000s.

Iconic Events Releasing is partnered with Anime Expo to bring "Ax Cinema Nights," a year-round celebration of anime films, to theaters across the country, featuring a number of well-respected anime films. Among these are three films from celebrated director Satoshi Kon: Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Tokyo Godfathers, along with Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and the original Ghost in the Shell film. The films will be screened at events starting in September 2023 and running through February 2024, allowing fans to see these films as they were meant to be seen for the first time in decades, for some of them.

Anime Classics...

Iconic Events Releasing, a company specializing in distributing special engagement theatrical events to theatres, brings the action and bold visual storytelling of anime to the big screen as it announces a slate of upcoming nationwide theatrical events for the latest installment of Ax Cinema Nights.

A different acclaimed anime feature will be screened at over 300 theatre locations across the country beginning in September and continuing through February 2024.

Celebrated films will include a Satoshi Kon Film Festival that will screen 3 of the legendary Director's most renowned anime feature films – Perfect Blue 25th Anniversary, Tokyo Godfathers 20th Anniversary, and Paprika, as well as special presentations of Ghost In The Shell and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Both subtitled and dubbed screenings are scheduled.

Ax Cinema Nights is a year-round movie event series celebrating the best new and classic anime films by bringing them to theaters across North America. It provides the passionate fan...

(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)

The Movie: "Sword of the Stranger"

Where You Can Stream It: Crunchyroll, Funimation

The Pitch: It's the Sengoku period in Japan. Samurai clans are warring with each other and the Chinese Ming dynasty maintains influence over their island neighbors. The era sets the stage for this beautifully animated adventure, which plays out like "Lone Wolf and Cub" meets "Rurouni Kenshin."

An anonymous samurai is haunted by the violence he inflicted and the innocent people he killed during the Feudal wars. So, he's become a ronin, wandering Japan alone. That is until he meets young Kotaro, an orphan being pursued by Ming warriors. Kotaro's dog Tobimaru (the most adorable badass in the movie) is wounded saving Nanashi from attackers. So, the man...

If you were an unsuspecting late-night Cartoon Network viewer in 2001, you likely witnessed the birth of "Adult Swim." And, if you were there, then it is safe to say that one of your formative introductions to anime involved some loud horns blaring at the stroke of midnight, followed by the funkiest bass strings you'd ever heard. That's when you knew, deep down, that something different was happening.

"Cowboy Bebop" is, without question, one of the most highly regarded anime series of all time. With its rugged, quirky characters, fantastic animation, and epic score, the show has served as a welcome introduction to anime for many fans. Directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, "Cowboy Bebop" follows a crew of intergalactic bounty hunters as they travel across the galaxy aboard their ship, the Bebop, collecting bounties for the Inter Solar System Police. These assignments frequently land the team in chaotic situations that see their...

The BFI today announce full details of a hotly anticipated two-month season dedicated to Anime, running at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX from 28 March – 31 May. Originally planned for summer 2020 as part of the BFI’s major survey of Japanese cinema BFI Japan, the season arrives, at long last, to entertain and delight anime fans and novices alike.

The programme will include:

· A broad mixture of classic films such as Akira, Ghost In The Shell, Belladonna Of Sadness, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie and Tekkonkinkreet, as well as an early shorts programme spotlighting work from 1917-1946· Previews of new releases including the thrillingly original Inu-oh, high-octane urban fairy tale Bubble and the powerful and thought-provoking short Summer Ghost (2021) followed by a Q&a with director loundraw· Much-loved recent work by major auteurs Mamoru Hosoda, Makoto Shinkai (Your Name) and the late great Satoshi Kon· A spotlight on emerging female talent Naoko Yamada...

Netflix shared new first-look photos from the upcoming live-action “Cowboy Bebop” series, also setting a November premiere date for the John Cho-led series.

An adaptation of the beloved anime series of the same name, “Cowboy Bebop” is described as “an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka “cowboys,” all trying to outrun the past.”

Cho stars in the series as Spike Spiegel, alongside Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine. Per Netflix, the trio forms “a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals — for the right price.”

The series will premiere on the streaming service on Nov. 19. Check out the first-look images below.

Netflix is co-producing with Tomorrow Studios, with Netflix overseeing the show’s physical production. Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum, Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg of Midnight Radio will serve as executive producers and showrunners, with Watanabe consulting.

Founded in 1998, Bones has been a reputed anime studio with several leading titles under its belt, including Bungo Stray Dogs and Fullmetal Alchemist. The studio’s legacy began with 1998’s cult classic Cowboy Bebop that was conceived by Sunrise staff members Masahiko Minami, and Toshihiro Kawamoto. Following the fame of the space-Western, they planned to start their own studio, leading to the Bones original Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.

Related: 10 Anime To Watch If You Enjoy Strategy and Intrigue

Within the following years, Bones churned out heavily-acclaimed anime series and films. With Minami serving as President, the team’s latest projects include the fifth season of My Hero Academia and Godzilla Singular Point.

The Japanese science fiction anime “Cowboy Bebop” is a 1998 twenty-six episode television series which takes place on Mars in the year 2071. Highly acclaimed and popular in the West, it’s about the adventures of a bunch of bounty hunters who fly around in the spaceship named “Bebop”. The aspect of connecting with one’s past, loneliness and lost is a reoccurring theme through the series. Furthermore, thanks to the amazing jazz soundtrack and action sequences, this is a memorable production indeed.

In 2001, “Cowboy Bebop: Knockin on Heaven’s Door” hits the big screen with more action and a bigger budget, however, it’s internationally known as “Cowboy Bebop: the Movie”, a full length feature film set near the end of the original series concerning a terrorist releasing a deadly virus on Mars. The reward for capturing him in is too tempting for our favorite bounty hunters to...

‘Tenet’ hits $334m globally, while family films dominate Germany.

’Demon Slayer’ slays Japan with $44m opening

Japanese anime Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train delivered a sensational $44m three-day opening in Japan for joint distributors Toho and Aniplex – the top result globally at the weekend for any film on release, and the biggest ever opening for a film in Japan.

The film is adapted from the manga Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotoge, and was previously adapted into a 2019 TV series. Both the series and the film are directed by Haruo Sotozaki, whose animation department credits include Cowboy Bebop: The Movie...

Out hthis week from Lionsgate is the 4K edition of the celebrated anime classic Ghost in the Shell. Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of one of the most critically acclaimed anime films of all time when Ghost in the Shell arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital 4K Ultra HD) and Digital 4K Ultra HD on September 8th from Lionsgate. Based on the beloved manga from Japanese writer and illustrator Shirow Masamune, the film’s voice cast includes Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, and Kôichi Yamadera. Remastered in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and featuring fan-favorite commemorative artwork from pop illustrator Martin Ansin – along with brand new bonus material – this will be the most definitive Ghost in the Shell package to date.

2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious...

Santa Monica, CA – Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of one of the most critically acclaimed anime films of all time when Ghost in the Shell arrives on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital 4K Ultra HD) and Digital 4K Ultra HD on September 8th from Lionsgate. Based on the beloved manga from Japanese writer and illustrator Shirow Masamune, the film’s voice cast includes Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, and Kôichi Yamadera. Remastered in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and featuring fan-favorite commemorative artwork from pop illustrator Martin Ansin – along with brand new bonus material – this will be the most definitive Ghost in the Shell package to date.

2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi, and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of “The Puppet Master,” a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together with her fellow agents from...

Lionsgate has announced that the groundbreaking Ghost in the Shell will arrive on 4K Ultra HD this September in celebration of its 25th anniversary! Here's the official press release, cover art, and trailer:

Santa Monica, CA – Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of one of the most critically acclaimed anime films of all time when Ghost in the Shell arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital 4K Ultra HD) and Digital 4K Ultra HD on September 8th from Lionsgate. Based on the beloved manga from Japanese writer and illustrator Shirow Masamune, the film’s voice cast includes Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, and Kôichi Yamadera. Remastered in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and featuring fan-favorite commemorative artwork from pop illustrator Martin Ansin – along with brand new bonus material – this will be the most definitive Ghost in the Shell package to date.

2029: A female cybernetic government agent, Major Motoko Kusanagi,...

Netflix has shut down production on “Cowboy Bebop” a little more than a week into filming after star John Cho suffered an injury that will require surgery, the streamer confirmed.

Production will be halted between seven and nine months while Cho, who stars as Spike Spiegel in the live-action remake, rehabs in Los Angeles. Once Cho’s prognosis is more clear, Netflix will proceed with a new production schedule. The injury happened while filming a “routine” scene.

“Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. Gonna be back and flowing in no time!” Cho wrote on his Instagram account Friday, along with a quote from Bruce Lee.

View this post on Instagram

“Water can flow or it can crash.” – Bruce Lee Thanks for all the well wishes everyone. Gonna be back and flowing in no time!

A post shared by John Cho (@johnthecho) on Oct 18, 2019 at 4:11pm Pdt

“Our thoughts...

Last November, it was announced that Denis Villeneuve's 2017 Blade Runner 2049 will be continued with an anime series entitled Blade Runner — Black Lotus, and Shinichiro Watanabe, director of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, will serve as the creative producer. The first work to spring forth from the artistic collaboration between Villeneuve and Watanabe is Blade Runner Black Out 2022, an animated short directed by Watanabe and featuring music by Flying Lotus. The event at the center of the gap between Villeneuve's sequel and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is the "Black Out," a mass erasure of data across the city caused by an unidentified rebel force. Black Out 2022 centers around the execution of this operation, following a pair of replicants who plan to destroy the replicant database, which has become weaponized by humans to locate and kill the androids. Though Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 may...

Netflix has begun casting for its live-action adaptation of “Cowboy Bebop,” adding John Cho, Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassell.

Cho will star as Spike Spiegel, an impossibly cool bounty hunter with a deadly smile, a wry wit, and style to spare. He travels the solar system with his ex-cop partner, Jet, pursuing the future’s most dangerous bounties with a combination of charm, charisma — and deadly Jeet Kune Do.

Shakir, who recently played Bushmaster on Netflix’s “Luke Cage,” will play Jet Black, Spiegel’s partner. Jet Black was one of the few honest cops in the solar system before an ultimate betrayal robbed him of all that he loved, forcing him into a vagabond life of hunting bounties to put food on the table. Jet is an inveterate jazz enthusiast and Captain of the Bebop.

Also Read: 'Cowboy Bebop': Live-Action Remake of Acclaimed Anime Series...

Netflix has ordered a 10-episode live-action adaptation of beloved anime Cowboy Bebop, almost exactly 20 years after it first aired in 1998.

Shinichiro Watanabe, who directed the original 26-episode anime and the follow-up film Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, will serve as a consultant, Variety reports. Thor: Ragnarok writer Christopher Yost will write the first episode and executive produce the series.

Cowboy Bebop is a Western noir sci-fi set in 2071. It follows protagonist Spike Spiegel and his eclectic bunch of bounty hunters, with each episode focusing on a different musical theme. The series immediately garnered a cult following after its premiere in the ’90s, becoming the first anime to air on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. It has been lauded as a “gateway series” for Japanese animation as a whole.

Visit Tubefilter for more great stories.

The live-action adaptation of “Cowboy Bebop” finally has a home: Netflix announced Tuesday that it is co-producing the series with a 10-episode order.

Created by director Shinichirō Watanabe and animator Toshihiro Kawamoto, “Cowboy Bebop” ran for 26 episodes from 1997-1998, and was followed by a feature film, “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie,” in 2001.

The show follows Spike Spiegel and his partner Jet Black, crew of the spaceship Bebop, who eke out a living as interplanetary bounty hunters. As they navigate their own troubled pasts, they also become involved in increasingly significant events both criminal and political. It takes place 50 years after an accident rendered Earth uninhabitable and forced humanity to colonize Mars, Venus and the Jovian moons.

Also Read: Anime Classic 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' to Make Global Streaming Debut on Netflix in 2019 (Videos)

“Cowboy Bebop” was celebrated for its ambiguous, neo-noir tone and a jazz soundtrack composed by Yoko Kanno. It gained a following in the U.

Netflix is saying “Giddy up!” to Cowboy Bebop, placing a 10-episode series order for a live-action version of the late ’90s Japanese anime phenom, TVLine has learned.

Set in the future, the jazz-inspired, genre-bending series follows a rag-tag crew of bounty hunters (named Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Faye Valentine and Radical Ed) on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals. They’ll even save the world — for the right price.

Netflix will co-produce the project with Tomorrow Studios (a partnership between Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios). Alias vets Andre Nemec, Josh Appelbaum,...

Gotta love a good old-fashioned Western. It’s a genre that’s been an American staple for decades. The image of the lone gunslinger is one that’s inspired countless novels, films, comics, and TV shows — and it’s one that’s bound to continue to do so for countless years. Though while as kids the genre may have been synonymous with fun adventure, the reality is that the majority of these flicks are slow, meditative character studies.

That’s all well and good, but I’m gonna chuck every one of those movies out the window today. You won’t find me talking about The Assassination of Jesse James, Once Upon A Time In The West, or The Unforgiven here. Granted, I acknowledge the quality of those films, but today, I wanted to highlight a handful of flicks that may be more in line with what we’ll be...

“I love a woman who can kick my ass!”

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie screens midnights this weekend (June 26th and 27th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ Midnight Series.

The popular animé series Cowboy Bebop got its own feature-length film in 2001 aptly named Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Set in the late 21st century, it jumps into the series’ story line just prior to its conclusion, with the bounty hunting crew of the interstellar craft Bebop chasing a hacker aboard a tanker into a major city on Mars. As crew member Faye Valentine closes in on the tanker, she witnesses its catastrophic explosion, which soon appears to be a viral terrorist attack as the death toll continues to mount in the days following. Furthermore, Faye caught a glimpse of the person responsible for the blast and is thus the only surviving witness of the crime.

“Jack, Maggie, all you have to do is think one happy thought, and you’ll fly like me!”

Hook screens midnights this weekend (June 19th and 20th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ Midnight Series.There will also be a 10am screening Saturday the 20th.

Hook is a spin-off of the classic tale of Peter Pan. Do you ever wonder what life would have been like for Peter Pan if he had grown up? If he had kids, a wife, and a career as a lawyer? It happens here in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 tale of the boy who never wanted to grow up. Did you know that Michael Jackson originally wanted to play the role of Peter? Pretty creepy, huh? But fortunately Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman were cast and they are great together. Peter is a grown-up who just can’t seem...

“Teriffic. I’m about to get killed a million miles from nowhere with a gung-ho iguana who tells me to relax!”

The Last Starfighter screens midnights this weekend (June 12th and 13th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ Midnight Series.There will also be a 10am screening Saturday the 13th.

The Last Starfighter, the 1984 sci-fi film about a video-gaming teen (Lance Guest – remember him?…me neither) who finds himself recruited as a gunner for an alien defense force, will probably be best remembered as one of the first science-fiction films to feature fully computer-generated images instead of model shots, and that’s unfortunate. Slick, fun, and full of energy, The Last Starfighter is one of the better “forgotten” science fiction films of the ‘80s – a movie with fun characters, an involving story, and enough action and adventure to keep both kids and adults entertained.

“I know you are but what am I?”

Pee-wee’S Big Adventure screens midnights this weekend (June 5th and 6th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ Midnight Series.

The first film by Paul Ruebens, Tim Burton and the incomparable film composer Danny Elfman, Pee-wee’S Big Adventure bubbles with the pure joy and exuberance of three talented people playing with a brand new toy. No film has ever been more fun to watch.When the pale man child known as Pee Wee Herman’s mechanical love ride is stolen by a bikenapper, a lot of quirk and circumstance follows as this cultural icon tries to rescue his two-wheeled best friend. This really is the most beautiful movie relationship between a man and an inanimate object (Tom Hanks and a volleyball comes in a close second). Things really get tense when Pee Wee pays...

Kung Fu Killer screens midnights this weekend (May 29th and 30th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ Midnight Series.

Reel Late at the Tivoli film series usually shows classic cult movies at midnight but this weekend, it’s a St. Louis premiere of a new film, Kung Fu Killer starring chopsocky legend Donnie Yen and directed by Teddy Chen.

A vicious killer, Feng, is going round Hong Kong killing top martial arts exponents, leaving a secret weapon called the Moonshadow as his calling card. When convicted killer and kung fu expert, Xia, hears of this, he offers to help the police catch the killer, in return for his freedom. Despite their misgivings, the police release the former police martial arts instructor into their custody. With his help, they realize from the chronological order of the victims that the killer is targeting his victims,...

“I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time, I’d rather not spend the rest of this winter Tied To This Fucking Couch!”

John Carpenter’s The Thing screens midnights this weekend (May 22nd and 23rd) at The Tivoli Theater as part of their ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ Midnight Series.

I won’t go into my usual retrospective because everyone has seen it many times, but I will share my The Thing story: I saw it the day it opened (June 25th 1982). My mother’s friend Marilyn came over in the morning so she and mom could go shopping. She brought her 9-year old Grandson Michael with her and handed me a $10 bill and said “Go take Michael to see E.T. The Extra-terrestrial (which had opened two weeks earlier) so he’s out of my hair while your mother and I...

“I know you are but what am I?”

Another great lineup of midnight movies for the ‘Reel Late at The Tivoli’ for June and July. It’s a typically good variety to draw the late night movie buff crowd that includes a premiere, and anime, some ‘80s standards and……Hook (!?!)

The line-up of midnight movies begins May 29th and 30th with the St. Louis premiere of the new chopsocky epic Kung Fu Killer. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a Japanese animated Space Western action film from 2003, so that should pack ‘em in. The Shining always does well and The Terminator should get everyone jazzed for the upcoming Terminator Genisys. The Last Starfighter and Who Framed Roger Rabbit certainly have their followings and Pee-wee’S Big Adventure just gets funnier with time. Then there’s Hook. That’s a real head-scratcher in my book, Spielberg’s worst film (why can’t...

[Press Release] Los Angeles, Aug. 13, 2013 - The Art Directors Guild (Adg) Film Society and American Cinematheque conclude the 2013 Adg Film Series with a special screening of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (Tengoku No Tobira) (2001), a futuristic animated feature from Japan that blends film noir, spaghetti western, Hong Kong style action, and much more into a remarkable work of film art on Sunday, August 25 at 5:30 pm at the Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, though considered anime, has all the emotion and visceral impact of any great live action film, with a story that mixes past and future architecture and wild action with a feeling of genuine urban realism. Cowboy Bebop is unique as it creates its world with a minimum of computer graphics and just a...

With rumors surrounding the resurgence of the "Terminator" franchise and that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is possibly joining the next installment, now is a good time to pick up the re-mastered blu-ray edition. There's also been renewed talks of a live-action "Cowboy Bebop" film. Would you want an origin story that follows the anime or something that drops us right into the action like "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie"? Pre-orders are available for "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" which ships at the end of the month. Support "Dredd" on home video if you want a sequel. Every day it seems I come across a new individual that's just discovered the stylish action adventure on dvd or blu-ray. For all you gamers, "Far Cry 3" is one you may have missed at its initial release but the Ubisoft game garnered favorable reviews and is currently listed at a steal. Likewise, if you...

From the early days of Hollywood, film studios have believed that if one is good, five or six are better. That seems even truer today, when deals are inked for sequels before the first film even gets released. Even worse, it seems that over the years we’ve been bombarded by terrible sequels or worse, sequels to movies that weren’t all that great to begin with. And yet, there are those movies that are so good, they need – nay, deserve – to have their stories continued on the big screen...

10. Crossroads (1986)

Ralph Macchio plays Eugene Martone, a young guitar prodigy at Julliard who becomes enamored with Robert Johnson, and finds his friend Willie Brown (Joe Seneca) in a minimum security hospital. Eugene believes there is a lost song of Johnson’s, and Willie tricks him into breaking him out in exchange for the song. But in all honesty, Willie wants...

Rank the week of June 28th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time:new Releasesthe Warrior’S Way

(Blu-ray and DVD | R | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #8698

Times Ranked: 631

Win Percentage: 39%

Top-20 Rankings: 0

Directed By: Sngmoo Lee

Starring: Kate Bosworth • Geoffrey Rush • Danny Huston • Tony Cox • Dong-gun Jang

Genres: Action • Fantasy • Martial Arts • Western

Rank This Movie

Sucker Punch

(Blu-ray and DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #2081

Times Ranked: 4896

Win Percentage: 44%

Top-20 Rankings: 19

Directed By: Zack Snyder

Starring: Emily Browning • Abbie Cornish • Jena Malone • Vanessa Hudgens • Carla Gugino

Genres: Action • Adventure • Drama • Fantasy • Fantasy Adventure • Girls-with-Guns • Psychological Drama • Thriller

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Season Of The Witch

(Blu-ray and DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #9846

Times Ranked: 1288

Win Percentage: 36%

Top-20 Rankings: 4

Directed By: Dominic Sena

Starring: Nicolas Cage • Ron Perlman • Stephen Campbell Moore • Stephen Graham • Ulrich Thomsen

Genres: Action • Action Thriller • Adventure • Adventure Drama • Drama • Fantasy • Fantasy Adventure • Supernatural Thriller • Thriller • Witchcraft

Rank This...

Welcome back to Killer Film’s New Release Tuesday for June 28th! Before we get to these releases, let us remind you by ordering through our site, you not only get the best deals around from Amazon, but this one little click will help us out at no extra cost to you! It’s what keeps us killer!

Sucker Punch

How do you make hot girls with swords battling robotic samurais boring? Ask Zack Snyder. His original, yet overly long, CGI mess doesn’t have anything to connect the proper dots towards being more than a pretty picture. See a little B-movie called Bitch Slap instead. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Rent Donny says: Rent

Beastly

Despite the book’s popularity and the mild hype, this one fizzled at the B.O. Why? Maybe it was too hype, too un-Beauty and the Beast for most to care, especially when the Disney version owns all.

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Black Moon: The Criterion Collection (1975)

Directed by: Louis Malle

Starring: Cathryn Harrison, Therese Giehse

Criterion.com Synopsis: Louis Malle meets Lewis Carroll in this bizarre and bewitching trip down the rabbit hole. After skirting the horrors of a mysterious war being waged in the countryside, beautiful young Lily (Cathryn Harrison) takes refuge in a remote farmhouse, where she becomes embroiled in the surreal domestic life of an extremely unconventional family. Evocatively shot by cinematographer Sven Nykvist, Black Moon is a Freudian tale of adolescent sexuality set in a post-apocalyptic world of shifting identities and talking animals. It is one of Malle’s most experimental films and a cinematic daydream like no other.

Camille 2000: Extended Version (1969)

Directed by: Radley Metzger

Starring: Daniel Gaubert, Nino Castelnuovo

IMDb.com Synopsis: Marguerite, a beautiful woman of affairs, falls for the young and promising Armand,...

Image Entertainment has announced the 2001 anime classic, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie for June 28th on Blu-ray. While this is an early announcement, there doesn’t appear to be any extras. Directed by Shinichirô Watanabe, the film follows a terrorist explosion releases a deadly virus on the masses, and it’s up the bounty-hunting Bebop crew to catch the cold-blooded culprit, as IMDb explains.

We’ll have more soon.

Source: HighDefDigest...

Although there are many videogames based upon anime series, “Gungrave” shows that such inspiration can work both ways, having been adapted from Yasuhiro Nightow’s hit 2002 Playstation title. Created by Nightow (best known for “Trigun”), the 26 episode series originally aired back in 2003, and was directed by Toshiyuki Tsuru, who was the key animator working on “Cowboy Bebop: The Movie”, and who also helmed the third “Naruto” film. Having proved popular both in Japan and in the Us, the action packed, though essentially character driven show now arrives on region 2 DVD via Mvm, handily collected in a complete box set. The series opens, quite literally, with a bang, throwing the viewer without much explanation into a battle, as the hulking Beyond the Grave is revived by a scientist and takes on hordes of strange, ghoulish opponents. As the story progresses, it transpires that his real name is Brandon Heat (voiced by...