The latest anime property headed for the live-action adaptation assembly line is “Samurai Champloo,” set to come from Tomorrow Studios. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Tomorrow Studios is also the company behind Netflix’s live-action “One Piece” series and, more controversially, the live-action “Cowboy Bebop.”
For those unfamiliar with the anime, Samurai Champloo follows three unlikely companions traveling across a stylized version of Edo-period Japan: a reckless swordsman named Mugen, a disciplined warrior named Jin, and a young woman named Fuu who is searching for a mysterious samurai.
First reported by Variety, the studio appears to be approaching things a little differently with Shinichirō Watanabe, the creator of the original anime, being attached to the project as an executive producer from the start. According to the producers, bringing Watanabe into the process early on was a lesson learned from the (poor) reaction to Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, which struggled to win over longtime fans of the source material and was cancelled after a single disappointing season.
The adaptation is still in very early development and has not yet secured a home on any particular network or streaming platform but, based on the studio’s history, will likely find a home for Samurai Champloo over on Netflix, yet again. Tomorrow Studios executives Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements are leading the effort and say the goal is to retain the elements that made the original series memorable, though only time will tell, considering the studio is batting .500 with how things are with Cowboy Bebop (RIP) and One Piece.
Producers say they hope to bring a well-known recording artist into the project early to help shape the show’s sound as music will again play a major role in the new adaptation. Many will recall the stylistic integrity of the show’s hip hop genre from Japanese music producer, Jun Seba, better known for his stage name Nujabes. Seba later passed away tragically in a traffic collision in 2010.
Hopefully this version turns out well, because live-action anime adaptations have historically been… rough. Cowboy Bebop is one of many poor attempts to bring anime into the live-action scene but stands as one of the most recognizable examples of recent memory of how badly things can go. Still, Hollywood clearly believes the formula is simple: find a popular anime, adapt it in live action, and hope it works out somehow.
