Bang!

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of “Cowboy Bebop” has fans buzzing with anticipation. The iconic anime, named for the genre-busting style of jazz that comprises the lion’s share of its soundtrack, is considered a cult classic. Netflix is pulling no punches on the production, and casting thus far has proven worthy of the hype: John Cho has been chosen to play the show’s devastatingly cool protagonist, Spike.

But John won’t be alone on screen, as Netflix has just announced a film and TV newcomer will appear alongside him.

Bella, the 2 year old Siberian husky, will round off the predominately human–and entirely motley–crew of bountyhunters as the “datadog” Ein.

Sources say that Netflix has decided to make an “Artistic choice” in casting Bella, citing her “intense and intelligent screen presence, befitting a gentically engineered ‘datadog'” as their rationale.

Bella to play “Ein” in live action Bebop adaptation

While Ein is drawn as a Welsh Corgi in the cartoon version of “Bebop”, the reasoning behind his original design was based solely on a member of Bebop creative team’s love for the breed.

“Ein” the “datadog”, as he appears in the original series “Cowboy Bebop”

“Nothing in the story says Ein has to be a Corgi,” a spokesperson for the Netflix project explained. “…and honestly, a reboot that precisely mimics the source material is boring. We’ve already seen that story.”

When asked about concerns related to fan backlash, Netflix’s spokesperson replied with “Just like the genre the show is named for, sometimes it’s better to do what’s unexpected, what’s never been done before. (sic) This is the ethos of Bebop, and we’re being true to that. We’re confident true fans of the show will embrace this choice.”

“Cowboy Bebop” is expected to air sometime next year on Netflix.

Until then,

See you later, space cowboy.