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The producers behind Netflix’s One Piece live-action say their upcoming adaptation of Samurai Champloo will take a different approach from their earlier attempt at adapting Cowboy Bebop.
According to executives at Tomorrow Studios, the new project will prioritize close collaboration with original creator Shinichiro Watanabe, a step they now view as essential after lessons learned from the 2021 adaptation.
The comments were made by Tomorrow Studios executive producers Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements in an interview with Variety, where they confirmed that a live-action version of Samurai Champloo is currently in early development.
Adelstein said the studio has come to see creator involvement as critical when adapting beloved anime properties.
“We’ve learned,” he said, explaining that having the original creator present to guide and “bless the creative” direction is extremely important for a live-action adaptation.
The studio previously worked on the live-action Cowboy Bebop, which premiered on Netflix on Nov 19, 2021. The adaptation was criticized by many viewers for elements such as its writing, special effects, editing and action sequences. Netflix canceled the series less than a month after its debut, on Dec 9, 2021.
Watanabe, who directed the original was among those who criticized the adaptation stating that Netflix had sent him footage from the live-action series for review, but he stopped watching shortly after it began.
“For the new Netflix live-action adaptation, they sent me a video to review and check,” Watanabe said. “It started with a scene in a casino, which made it very tough for me to continue. I stopped there and so only saw that opening scene.”
Watanabe added that the scene immediately convinced him the adaptation did not capture the essence of the original series.
In addition to Watanabe not being involved in the series, the production team had decided to take a different approach creatively, including not aiming for a direct one-to-one adaptation of the anime and instead wanted to craft their own version of the story.
The team also looked beyond anime when shaping the series, drawing inspiration from films that influenced Watanabe’s original work.
After recognizing the mistakes they made during that adaptation, Tomorrow Studios applied the creator invovement approach to its One Piece live-action series.
Original manga creator Eiichiro Oda was deeply involved across multiple stages of development and production, including reviewing scripts, casting decisions and visual effects.
The strategy proved successful. After debuting on Netflix, the first season of One Piece spent eight weeks on Netflix’s Global Top 10 list.
Tomorrow Studios now hopes to apply the same philosophy to Samurai Champloo. Clements said the producers met with Watanabe in Japan and told him that if the studio moved forward with adapting the anime, they wanted him involved in shaping the project creatively.
She said the team was thrilled when Watanabe agreed to participate.
Originally released in 2004, Samurai Champloo is a Japanese historical adventure anime produced by Manglobe. The 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005.
Source: Variety
