‘Cowboy Bebop’ Director Teams up With Adult Swim for New Sci-Fi Anime, ‘Lazarus'

Adult Swim has green-lit a new original series by Shinichiro Watanabe, the renowned director behind the hugely successful Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo anime. Titled Lazarus, the new series in development will be produced by Sola Entertainment for Toonami, and entirely animated by Studio MAPPA.

Set in the near future of 2052, the world is now in a utopic era where mankind is finally freed from all forms of sickness and pain — a result of a miracle cure-all drug called Hapuna developed by Dr. Skinner, a Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist. The doctor vanished shortly after the drug was officially introduced, only to return three years later with an ominous threat — everyone who has taken Hapuna will die in around three years, and that “death is coming for this sinful world.” In an attempt to save humanity, and locate Dr. Skinner with hopes to develop a vaccine, a special task force named “Lazarus” is formed.

Jason DeMarco, SVP, Head of Anime and Action Series at Adult Swim noted in an official press release that Lazarus, like all of Watanabe’s previous works, will be “packed with big ideas, incredible characters, and a ton of heart.” He also pointed out in a Twitter thread earlier that Watanabe will also be directing every episode.

John Wick’s director and stuntman, Chad Stahelsk will also be responsible for choreographing all the action sequences for the series. Combined with Studio MAPPA’s high-quality animation productions, fans can anticipate fluid, stunning and dynamic visuals of the same caliber as Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan: The Final Season, and Chainsaw Man. Like Cowboy Bebop, the anime will feature a score by electronic and jazz musicians, including Kamasi Washington, Floating Points, and Bonobo.

As part of the Adult Swim Festival, attendees of the Toonami on the Green event will receive a first look at Lazarus on July 22. For more information, visit the event’s official website.

Elsewhere in entertainment, check out the official A Haunting In Venice trailer.