John Cho Injured on 'Cowboy Bebop' Set; Netflix Suspends Production for 7 to 9 Months

The actor reportedly sustained a knee injury that requires surgery and extensive rehabilitation.

John Cho
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Image via Getty/Albert L. Ortega

John Cho

The live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop has hit an unfortunate snag.

According toDeadline, production for the Netflix series was put on pause this month after lead actor John Cho sustained a knee injury on set. Sources described the incident as a "freak accident" that occurred during the last take of a "well-rehearsed" scene. The 47-year-old actor was flown from the set on New Zealand to Los Angeles, where he will undergo surgery and "extensive rehabilitation." Production is expected to resume in seven to nine months.

Cho posted an Instagram photo Friday that included a Bruce Lee quote as well as a thank-you message to all his supporters: "Thanks for all the well wishes everyone," he wrote. "Gonna be back and flowing in no time!"

Cowboy Bebop will be executive produced and written by Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok). The series, based on the iconic anime series of the same name, will be set in space and follow a group of rag-tag bounty hunters lead by Cho's Spike Spiegel. The cast includes Mustafa Shakir (Jet Black), Daniella Pineda (Faye Valentine), and Alex Hassell (Vicious).

Deadline reports Cowboy Bebop began production earlier this month and had already shot a few episodes of its 10-episode order. Netflix recently shared a behind-the-scenes video of the first day on set, featuring the series' cast and Ein the data dog.

View this video on YouTube

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The live-action remake will be executive produced and written by Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok). 

Written/executive produced by Yost based on the worldwide phenomenon, Cowboy Bebop is the jazz-inspired, genre-bending story of Spike Spiegel (Cho), an impossibly cool “cowboy” (bounty hunter) with a deadly smile, wry wit, and style to spare, and his ragtag crew of bounty hunters on the run from their pasts as they hunt down the solar system’s most dangerous criminals.

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