Yoko Kanno to score the Netflix COWBOY BEBOP series

In news that will have fans everywhere breathing a sigh of relief, it's been confirmed (twice) that Yoko Kanno, the iconic composer behind Cowboy Bebop (among others), will be working on the live-action Netflix version of the show.

Netflix have previously remained quiet about their plans for the show's music, raising fears they would ignore the original series' jazz-infused musical sensibility. However, producer Jeff Pinkner has confirmed the news, as has (via io9) showrunner Javier Grillo-Marxuach.

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer known for her work on numerous anime films, TV series and video games. As well as the original Cowboy Bebop, she has also worked on Macross Pluss, Gundam and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Cowboy Bebop is her signature and most famous work, for the variety of the compositions and the unusual fusing of jazz, pop and rock influences.

The Netflix show was several weeks into shooting when it was suspended in October 2019 due to star John Cho sustaining an injury on-set. Cho's injury has mostly healed, but Netflix want to give the star more time to recover before remounting the project (the current pandemic has meant that shooting could not resume anyway, of course). Shooting is expected to resume in the coming weeks for a 2021 debut.