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Adult Swim, Cowboy Bebop's Shinichiro Watanabe, MAPPA Produce New Original Anime Lazarus (Updated)

Adult Swim announced on Thursday that it is producing a new original anime titled Lazarus (Lazaro in Japanese) for Toonami with Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy) and animation studio MAPPA (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan The Final Season).

Update: Senior vice president and head of anime and action series at Adult Swim Jason DeMarco confirmed on Twitter that Watanabe is directing every episode.

Chad Stahelski (John Wick stuntman and director) is designing the action sequences for the science-fiction action anime. The anime will feature a score by jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and producers, DJs, and musicians Floating Points and Bonobo. Sola Entertainment is producing.

Adult Swim describes the story:

The year is 2052 - an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity prevails across the globe. The reason for this: mankind has been freed from sickness and pain. Nobel Prize winning neuroscientist Dr. Skinner has developed a miracle cure-all drug with no apparent drawbacks called Hapuna. Hapuna soon becomes ubiquitous… and essential. However, soon after Hapuna is officially introduced, Dr. Skinner vanishes.

Three years later, the world has moved on. But Dr. Skinner has returned - this time, as a harbinger of doom. Skinner announces that Hapuna has a short half-life. Everyone who has taken it will die approximately three years later. Death is coming for this sinful world - and coming soon.

As a response to this threat, a special task force of 5 agents is gathered from across the world to save humanity from Skinner's plan. This group is called "Lazarus." Can they find Skinner and develop a vaccine before time runs out?

Watanabe is attending the "Toonami on the Green" event on July 22 at 5:15 p.m. as part of the Adult Swim Festival in San Diego. Adult Swim stated that attendees will get a first-look at Lazarus.

Watanabe directed such notable anime productions as Cowboy Bebop, Macross Plus, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, Carole & Tuesday, and Terror in Resonance. He also directed the "Blade Runner: Black Out 2022" anime short. Watanabe's short film "A Girl Meets a Boy and a Robot" screened at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Canada in July 2022.

Update: Sola Entertainment is producing the anime. Source: Email correspondence

Update 2: Added confirmation on Watanabe's role. Source: Jason DeMarco on Twitter

Source: Press release