Anime
Cowboy Bebop: Feature Film Returns as 4K Remaster
For the 25th anniversary, the film receives a newly drawn visual; the Japanese special screenings begin on October 30, 2026.
The anime film Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (COWBOY BEBOP 天国の扉) returns to Japanese cinemas as a 4K remaster on October 30, 2026. The occasion is the 25th anniversary of the feature film released in 2001; director Shinichiro Watanabe is fully supervising the new version.
As AV Watch reports, the 4K version will be shown nationwide in selected cinemas. Visitor gifts have also been announced for the anniversary screenings, with details to be published at a later date on the official anniversary page. A release of the 4K version on UHD Blu-ray or outside Japan is not confirmed by the current announcement.
New Visual for the 25th Anniversary
Alongside the cinema announcement, a completely newly produced anniversary visual was presented. The character design comes from character designer and animation director Toshihiro Kawamoto, and the background was created by art director Atsushi Morikawa. The title design was handled by Satoshi Uesugi of Mach55. According to the announcement, products based on the new artwork are also in preparation.
The feature film belongs to the Cowboy Bebop franchise, which launched in 1998, and is set chronologically between episodes 22 and 23 of the TV series. It centers on the crew of the Bebop, who search Mars for the person responsible for a suspected bioterror attack. For the new version, the film's story remains unchanged; the focus is on the technical revision for the cinema screen.
The re-release joins several current anniversary and re-screening projects of older Sunrise titles. Aninew.de recently reported on, among other things, the farewell to the Unicorn Gundam statue in Odaiba and the exhibition on Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino.
For Germany, neither a cinema run nor a new physical release of the 4K remaster has been announced so far.