Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichirō Watanabe’s new anime Lazarus is finally upon us

Lazarus, the upcoming sci-fi action anime from Cowboy Bebop creator Shinichirō Watanabe, finally has a premiere date. On Thursday, Adult Swim released a new trailer announcing that the latest original series from the celebrated anime auteur will premiere at midnight on April 5 on Adult Swim and be available to stream the next day on Max.

Set in 2052, the series follows “Lazarus,” a task force of five agents gathered from across the world to save humanity. When a miracle drug is revealed to be a deadly biological weapon designed to kill off users three years after ingestion, Lazarus is assembled to track down the drug’s enigmatic creator in a last-ditch effort to devise a cure. But to do that, they’ll have to find him first.

Produced by MAPPA and Sola Entertainment, Lazarus will feature character designs by Akemi Hayashi (Banana Fish) and action choreography courtesy of Chad Stahelski, the director and co-creator of the John Wick franchise. The anime will feature a score composed by electronic producers Simon Green (Bonobo), Samuel Shepherd (Floating Points), and jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington.

Speaking to Polygon at New York Comic Con 2024, Watanabe shared that he was inspired by the opioid crisis, as well as the existential threat of climate change, while writing the story for the series. The trailer looks as explosive and kinetic as fans of Watanabe’s work have come to expect, and with a sci-fi plot with headier themes on its mind, Lazarus could easily shape up to be one of this year’s most exciting anime premieres.