John Cho injured on set of Cowboy Bebop, forcing 7-9 month production hiatus for the show

Bad news, Space Cowboys: Netflix’s ambitious live-action remake of classic anime series Cowboy Bebop hit a major snag today, as star John Cho reportedly suffered an on-set knee injury that’s expected to shut down production, possibly for as long as 9 months. Per Deadline, the “freak injury”, which took place on the final take of a scene that had been thoroughly rehearsed, is bad enough that it will require surgery and rehabilitation for the Star Trek star, who’s playing laid-back martial artist Spike Spiegel on the show.

The Cowboy Bebop reboot—co-starring Mustafa Shakir, Daniella Pineda and Alex Hassell—began production earlier this month. Deadline reports that Netflix apparently has zero interest in continuing the project without Cho, and so the series’ production will go on hiatus until his prognosis has been confirmed. “Our thoughts are with John and he has our complete support as he recuperates from this injury,” Netflix said in a statement. The series was expected to air (tentatively) some time in 2020; obviously, this production delay is likely to push it back for at least the better part of a year.