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When Is Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Series Coming Out?
Watch the One Piece Live-Action Trailers
When and Where Was the One Piece Live-Action Series Filmed?
What Do We Know About the One Piece Live-Adaptation's Season 1?
Who's In the Cast of Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Series?
How Many Episodes Are There in Netflix’s One Piece Season 1?
Will There Be a Season 2 of Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Adaptation?
The Straw Hats are ready to set sail! Despite being one of the longest-running anime and manga in the world, it took nearly a decade for One Piece to finally get a live-action adaptation. One Piece will join the growing list of live-action adaptations of anime and manga series from Netflix, following in the footsteps of 2017's Death Note film and the 2021 series Cowboy Bebop. The Netflix adaptation of One Piece is being produced in collaboration with Tomorrow Studios with Eiichiro Oda, creator of the One Piece manga, serving as an executive producer. The series was first announced back in July 2017 by Weekly Shōnen Jump editor-in-chief Hiroyuki Nakano to commemorate the manga's 20th anniversary. One Piece made its debut on July 22, 1997, in an issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, and over 1,000 chapters of the manga have been published, along with 95 volumes, and it is currently in its final arc.
For now, Netflix has ordered the production of one season consisting of 10 episodes for the live adaptation, with Steven Maeda (CSI: Miami, Lost) and Matt Owens (Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) serving as showrunners. Season 1 of One Piece's live adaptation will cover the East Blue saga from the anime and the manga. With the series currently preparing for an imminent release, let's have a look at everything we know so far about Netflix’s One Piece live-action adaptation.
Editor's Note: This article was last updated on August 29.
Related:‘One Piece’ Creator Explains Why You Need to See the Live-Action on a Big Screen
When Is Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Series Coming Out?
One Piece will land on Netflix sooner than expected, arriving on August 31, 2023. The streamer had previously announced that the One Piece live-action series would be debuting in 2023. Now that we have an actual date, fans can mark their calendars and prepare for this highly-anticipated adventure. Here's the link to the show's landing page on the service:
Watch on NetflixBonus: ahead of the streaming premiere, Netflix is hosting fan screenings of One Piece in 10 cities around the world. The global event kicked off in Los Angeles on August 24, before moving to Paris on August 29. On August 30, screenings will be held in Jakarta, Tokyo, Milan, and Metro Manila, with Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, and Bangkok getting their screenings on August 31. Additionally, fans in Germany will also get a special virtual event on August 31 as well. Fans are encouraged to cosplay for the special events, with Netflix promising two hours of events followed by a screening of the pilot episode.
Watch the One Piece Live-Action Trailers
We finally got the first teaser for One Piece on June 18, 2023. The minute-and-a-half-long video provides a healthy taste of the adventure and humor that the series will be presenting. Check it out in the player above. Apart from the trailer, we also have a sneak peek released during Netflix's 2022 Geeked Week. The video shows the set and the concept art, and has some more details provided by actor Iñaki Godoy (Who Killed Sara?), who will be playing Luffy, and showrunners Steven Maeda and Matt Owens. In the clip, we see Godoy, Maeda, and Owens standing in a set that looks a lot like The Straw Hats’ first ship, The Going Merry. We also see the concept art of Miss Love Duck (Alvida’s ship), The Going Merry, and Baratie (Sanji’s alma mater). We also see a timelapse video of Baratie being constructed, and honestly, the attention to the detailing of the set is really impressive. See it here:
The full-length official trailer for the One Piece live-action series was released on July 22 in honor of One Piece Day. The three-minute video teases the treasure of legendary pirate king Gold Roger and shows Luffy gathering his crew. Watch the trailer right here:
On August 21, 2023, Netflix also released a behind-the-scenes video showing the cast and creative team going over the work that went into adapting one of the most popular mangas of all time to live-action. See it in the player below:
Most recently, on August 25, we got the official Japanese-language trailer for One Piece, featuring the original voice cast from the anime. While it's essentially the same as the official trailer above, seeing it with the original cast's voices is something special. Here it is:
When and Where Was the One Piece Live-Action Series Filmed?
The production for One Piece was originally set to kick off in the summer of 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa, specifically at the Cape Town Film Studios, following its initial announcement in January 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed in March 2021, with showrunner Maeda sharing an update with fans on social media. The filming for the adaptation was completed back in August 2022. The cast and the crew uploaded several pictures from the set bidding farewell to Cape Town, writing about their experience while filming. Showrunner Matt Owens also posted on Instagram in September about the production wrap along with a message of heartfelt gratitude towards the cast and the crew and everyone who was involved in the production of One Piece in Cape Town.
What Do We Know About the One Piece Live-Adaptation's Season 1?
Season 1 of One Piece's live-action adaptation will cover the East Blue arc from the manga. East Blue is the part of the ocean in the One Piece manga’s map where the protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy begins his journey as a pirate. As a kid, he ate a devil fruit called the Gum-Gum fruit (Gomu Gomu no Mi), which gave him a rubber-like body that bends, stretches, and inflates at will. Inspired by his childhood hero, Shanks, with his head held high and eyes filled with dreams, Luffy sets out to become the “King of The Pirates” by discovering the legendary pirate Gol D. Roger’s secret treasure, the One Piece.
However, the One Piece is said to be hidden somewhere across the Grand Line and the journey to that stretch of the ocean is a perilous one. Young Luffy starts out alone, but in time gathers crewmates with their own dreams, who become his lifelong friends as he helps them in their adventures. We will get to meet several fan favorites in Season 1, which include Roronoa Zoro, master of the three-sword style; Nami, the crew’s future navigator who was once a thief; Usopp, a sharpshooter who is learning to be brave; and Sanji, the crew’s future chef who falls for every woman he sees. The sneak peek provided in the Netflix Geeked Week video mentioned earlier also namedropped Arlong, which means we will get to see a lot of Nami’s backstory, and one of the earliest big fights Luffy gets himself into that solidifies his character, while also adding Nami to his list of crewmates.
Related:Why the 'One Piece' Live-Action Series Looks Different From the Manga and Anime
Who's In the Cast of Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Series?
Netflix has assembled a highly talented cast for the One Piece live-action adaptation series. Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy plays Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. His second-in-command, Roronoa Zoro, will be played by Mackenyu Arata. Fear Street Part Two: 1978 star Emily Rudd will be portraying Nami, the ship’s navigator. Jacob Romero Gibson, known for his role in Grey's Anatomy, will be playing the crew’s sniper Usopp. Taz Skylar (The Lazarus Project) will be playing the fifth member of the crew, the womanizing chef Sanji. Here’s a video of the main cast of Netflix’s One Piece introducing themselves:
Other than the main cast, the series regulars include Peter Gadiot as Shanks, Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Langley Kirkwood as Captain Morgan, Jeff Ward as Buggy, Celeste Loots as Kaya, Alexander Maniatis as Klahadore, Craig Fairbrass as Chef Zeff, Steven Ward as Dracule Mihawk, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Chioma Umeala as Nojiko, Vincent Regan as Garp, Bianca Oosthuizen as Sham, Chanté Grainger as Banchina, and Grant Ross as Genzo. In July 2023, it was announced that the original voice cast would reprise their roles in the series as well, though we're not sure in what capacity. Confirmed cast members from the anime voice cast who will appear in the live-action series include Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, and Hiroaki Hirata.
Related:'One Piece' Cinematographer Nicole Whitaker Shares How She Handles Abrupt Genre Switches
How Many Episodes Are There in Netflix’s One Piece Season 1?
There are 10 episodes in the first season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece. The names of the episodes as revealed so far are as follows, though the order may be subject to change:
- Episode 1: "Romance Dawn"
- Episode 2: "An old friend of mine"
- Episode 3: "Captain of 8,000 men"
- Episode 4: "Cooks of the sea"
- Episode 5: "A frog in the well"
- Episode 6: "Arms and sharks"
- Episode 7: "Tangerine grove"
- Episode 8: "The Maw of the Shark"
- Episode 9: "The end and the beginning"
- Episode 10: "Grand Line"
Will There Be a Season 2 of Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Adaptation?
There has been no confirmation of a second season yet. However, things are looking bright for the live adaptation of One Piece. The franchise as a whole is sailing strong on the success of One Piece Film: Red at the moment, which means that there's definitely more interest in the series now than ever. The President of South Africa released a press statement on March 17, 2022, saying, "One Piece is Netflix’s biggest production project in Africa to date – both in terms of scale and budget, covering South African labour, infrastructure, and suppliers." Though a big budget does not always convert into success, hopes are high with Netflix's latest attempt at an anime adaptation.
