The future of Netflix’s One Piece live-action series looks promising, with the producers of the show revealing that scripts for a potential second season have been prepared.
Despite the overwhelming success of the first season, a blend of production issues and strategic decisions from Netflix’s ever-perplexing decision makers have left fans anxiously awaiting official news on a release date.
The live-action adaptation of One Piece has taken the streaming platform by storm. According to Marty Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios, the production company behind the live-action adaptation, the scripts for the second season are ready. He shared this update with Variety, hinting that decisions about the format and frequency of the episodes are on the table with Netflix. The streamer is still determining the number of episodes and whether they would be released in one go or divided into separate parts.
However, a significant factor influencing the production timeline is the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. This industrial action by the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has temporarily put a pause on the work of scripted television series and films. The strikes began in July when SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA in demanding improved compensation and job security in the era of digital streaming.
Given these external factors, Becky Clements, the president of Tomorrow Studios, estimated that if production moves swiftly following the resolution of the strike, the second season could be ready to air anywhere between one year to 18 months.
The first season, which made its debut on August 31, garnered widespread appreciation, notably for remaining faithful to the spirit of Eiichiro Oda’s original creation. This success was pivotal for Tomorrow Studios and Netflix, especially after the less favorable reception of their Cowboy Bebop live-action series.
The cast of Netflix’s One Piece live-action adaptation includes Inaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Emily Rudd as Nami, Mackenyu Arata as Zoro, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. The series, primarily based on the East Blue Saga, has been under the meticulous supervision of Eiichiro Oda, along with showrunners Steve Maeda and Matt Owens.
If the trajectory of the first season is any indication, fans can expect the second season to venture deeper into the One Piece world. The first season adapted up to 96 chapters of the manga, hinting at the possible direction of Season 2 as a deep dive into the Arabasta arc, presenting Sir Crocodile as the central villain. This would involve adapting a significant portion of the manga into an eight-episode format, potentially challenging the pacing of the show.
We’re now curious to see how the live-action adaptation will navigate bringing one of Luffy’s biggest fights up to this point from the manga pages and the anime to the small screen and in live-action form.
In any case, the potential content of the presumably much more expansive second season could see the Straw Hats go from Loguetown to navigating the challenges of Reverse Mountain, facing the threats in Whisky Peak, and culminating in the dramatic confrontations in Arabasta. Along the way, they might encounter new characters, including the likes of Princess Vivi, Nico Robin, and Tony-Tony Chopper.
Despite the initial success of Netflix’s One Piece adaptation, producers recognize the need to broaden its audience and reach even more. As Adelstein mentioned, the goal is not only to cater to existing fans but to also draw in non-fans, making the series more inclusive and appealing to a broader demographic.
So far, the series has been successful at turning non-fans of the OG One Piece to casual audiences. What’s left now is for the show to amass a grand fleet of viewers as massive as the one that Whitebeard brought to Marineford to rescue Ace.
