In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cowboy Bebop live-action star John Cho said that the cancellation of the Netflix show was “shocking” and it “bummed” him.

“It was just a huge event in my life and it was suddenly over. It was very shocking and I was bummed,” said Cho.

However, he heartily expressed that despite his disappointment with the cancellation he was very “warmed by the response”.

“…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.”

While shooting in New Zealand, Cho incurred an injury that took its toll on the actor. He ended up taking a year off due to his surgery and physical therapy after which he returned to the sets to finish the rest of the show.

“I put a lot of my life into it,” said 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.”

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the studio Sunrise‘s anime, Cowboy Bebop, was canceled less than a month after its season one premiere due to disappointing reception.

Followed by the news, more than 145,000 fans signed a petition to bring back the Netflix film for a season 2, but the OTT giant hasn’t yet confirmed anything.

Netflix did not release an official explanation as to why the series was canceled. However, shortly after its release, Cowboy Bebop received a relatively low rating on Rotten Tomatoes, pulling 47% from critics and 58% from fans. Viewership for the live-action also saw a steep decline, dropping 59% in the first week after its debut.

The 10-episode series debuted on Nov. 19, 2021, on Netflix.

Netflix and Tomorrow Studios co-produced the series starring John Cho as Spike, Mustafa Shakir as Jet, Daniella Pineda as Faye, Alex Hassell as Vicious, and Elena Satine as Julia.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter