Straw Hats fans unite! Netflix gave One Piece fans a glimpse of the live-action adaptation of the ever-popular manga and anime Jan. 30, a small teaser for what fans can expect from the pirate journey. Following the exploits of the lovable protagonist with big ambitions, the series is sure to be a hilarious pirate adventure as Monkey D. Luffy comes one step closer to becoming the Pirate King.
In the manga and anime of the same name, Luffy accidentally ingests a type of Devil Fruit called the Gomu Gomu no Mi, or Gum-Gum fruit. The fruit turns his skin to rubber and later gives him access to “gears” with various power upgrades.
Netflix unveiled two posters for One Piece. One shows the Straw Hats Pirates standing on the shore of a beach overlooking the Going Merry with a sunrise or sunset in the distance. The image includes Sanji (Taz Skylar), Nami (Emily Rudd), Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), Usopp (Jacob Gibson), and Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu Arata). The second poster shows Luffy (Godoy) alone, staring out at the sunrise or sunset with his fist in the air.
Additional cast members include McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Morgan Davies as Koby, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Vincent Regan as Garp, Jeff Ward as Buggy, Craig Fairbrass as Chef Zeff, Langley Kirkwood as Ax Hand Morgan, Celeste Loots as Kaya, Alexander Maniatis as Klahadore, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as “Iron Mace” Alvida, Chioma Umeala as Nojiko and Steven Ward as Mihawk.
The visuals are stunning, but fans do have one complaint – the muscles. That’s a small complaint considering it is impossible for real-life actors to look exactly like their manga and anime counterparts.
One Piece filmed in South Africa during the summer of 2022 and is currently in post-production and due to be released some time in 2023. To “tide” people over, Netflix shared some behind-the-scenes photo and a video tour given by showrunners Steve Maeda and Matt Owens — as well as their star Iñaki Godoy — that shows some concept art of the many ships that will be in the show, as well as a look at how they are built.
“At the end of it all, I’m most excited to just be able to share this world with old fans and new. We get to go to work every day and walk on these massive sets and see these characters come to life. It’s a really special experience and a privilege and we can’t wait to share it with you.”
One Piece showrunner Steve Maeda