The most important part of getting One Piece right in live-action was the characters. While the story and atmosphere of One Piece are a big part of the puzzle, the characters are the most crucial. With the Straw Hat Pirates already making a huge impression on fans, what other major characters are likely to return?
Before we begin, this article contains spoilers for season one of One Piece live-action on Netflix. Every episode is streaming now, so go catch up!
Who’s Returning for Season Two?
Season two is still in the air, but every actor involved has expressed their excitement to return. So we’ll see the Straw Hat Pirates return in full with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji for season two. The actors are all very excited about their characters, and once the strikes in Hollywood finish up they’re ready to get back at it. No doubt they’ll be busy too, as with fans clamoring over the first season, the second is in high demand.
The only ones that are still up for debate, but also extremely likely to come back, are the Marines. Koby, Garp, and Helmeppo were given huge story expansion in the live-action as opposed to the original manga. Assuming a season two, the actors likely will return so fans can see some of their training under Garp.
New Characters
The second season of One Piece will have plenty of new characters to introduce alongside the returning ones though. This is good, because most of the Grand Line characters the Straw Hats meet will become central to the plot. Unfortunately most characters from the East Blue never come up much again. The beginning scenes in season one, especially in Loguetown during Gold Roger’s execution, may have already given a few clues. Fans are especially pointing to one of the characters to come. A woman standing by Shanks during the flashback is thought by fans to be the villainous Crocodile. This figure will be the first major antagonist of the Grand Line.
There are also a few others that will still need to be cast before the show can start filming. Smoker was only seen from behind in season one, so there’s likely not an actor set for him yet. There’s also the question of the new friends the Straw Hats meet in the Grand Line, like Vivi, Dorry, Broggy, and Kureha. Of course, Kureha has the long-held fan casting of Jamie Lee Curtis, so hopefully someone at Netflix is on that.
One Piece Season Two Timeline
Despite how much fans are begging for a second season, One Piece won’t be back for some time. The strikes by WGA and SAG in Hollywood have things on indefinite hold, but there are some bright spots. The writers say they have all scripts for season two of One Piece live-action complete. Somehow, they finished before the strike began, so things can start quickly when able. Even with the scripts finished though, they’re still predicting another twelve to eighteen months from the end of the strike to season two’s release. Remember, there are a lot of moving parts that go into filming a show like this, so it’s going to be a little time-consuming.
Until One Piece live-action comes out with more news about who’s returning or if anything is changing, fans will keep watching and speculating. The series is having a major moment right now, with great episodes of the anime, a fantastic first live-action season, and a big fight going down in the manga all at once. One thing is for sure, the One Piece is real to many, many fans around the world now.
