Space Sweepers is coming to Netflix next month with live-action Cowboy Bebop energy

Space Sweepers
(Image credit: Netflix)

We're still waiting on Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop series, but a new Netflix movie coming next month has beat it to the punch for cash-strapped space jockey vibes.

Netflix showed off the trailer for Space Sweepers today, a new live-action film coming to the streaming service starting February 5. It follows a crew of junk trawlers (including a wise-cracking robot, because you've gotta have one of those) who get more than they bargained for in their latest haul. The show's principal language is Korean, but the trailer is fully subtitled - and in a lovely inversion of western sci-fi shows sprinkling in bits of Asian languages to seem more futuristic, it does include some English dialogue.

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The trailer has space battles, gunfights, near misses, and lots of mutual disrespect between coworkers. Cowboy Bebop is a strong comparison, though it's also a bit Planetes with the junk picking, and I should probably not get too far out into the weeds with my late '90s and early '00s anime comparisons here.

Space Sweepers was originally planned for a theatrical release in South Korea last year, however pandemic concerns resulted in a series of delays until it finally became a Netflix-exclusive premiere. It's a shame that COVID means the film won't ever get the big theatrical debut it deserves, but I for one am looking forward to watching it from my couch as soon as it hits Netflix next month.

Find even more to get excited for with our guide to the most exciting upcoming movies of 2021 and beyond. 

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.