Netflix’s Geeked Week has already brought us tons of exclusive content, including official trailers, behind-the-scenes exclusives, and sneak peeks at upcoming projects. Even non-anime fans have heard about One Piece, the Japanese manga series written, illustrated, and created by Eiichiro Oda, but soon the whole world will know about Luffy and his “Straw Hat Pirates.” Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation is being produced by Tomorrow Studios, the company responsible for Netflix’s canceled Cowboy Bebop adaptation.
As of April 2022, One Piece is one of the most successful and influential manga series of all time, published as part of Shueisha’s shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997. Thus far, One Piece has produced 102 volumes — with more on the way — and spawned a media franchise comprising an animated television series by Toei Animation (since 1999), multiple video games, and fourteen animated theatrical films based on the One Piece series.
As part of its five-day virtual event, Netflix has unveiled a first look at the One Piece set, hosted by Luffy actor Iñaki Godoy and showrunners Steven Maeda and Matt Owens. All the way from South Africa, Godoy, Maeda, and Owens are bringing One Piece to life.
In the two-minute-long clip, we get glimpses at Oda’s incredible, colorful and cartoonish world in the form of concept art, including Alvida’s ship — Miss Love Duck — and the Straw Hat Pirates’ ship — Going Merry. Additionally, we get a closer look (inside and out) at the Baratie — an ocean-bound restaurant — and even see the side-by-side comparisons with the wooden structures themselves. Obviously, the crew in South Africa did an outstanding job, and Netflix’s One Piece series promises to be a faithful adaptation of Oda’s best-selling manga collection.
One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy, an aspiring pirate whose body gains the properties of rubber after eating a mysterious Devil Fruit. Inspired by his idol, Red-Haired Shanks, Luffy sets off on a journey with the Straw Hat Pirates to find a mythical treasure — the One Piece — and proclaim himself the King of the Pirates.
Netflix’s live-action One Piece series was announced back in Jan. 2020, declared to be ten episodes long and feature the collective talents of Langley Kirkwood as Captain Morgan, Celeste Loots as Kaya, Alexander Maniatis as Klahadore, Craig Fairbrass as Chef Zeff, Steven Ward as Mihawk, Peter Gadiot as Captain Shanks, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, Mackenyu Roronoa Zoro, and Chioma Umeala as Nojiko.
Right now, there has yet to be an announcement regarding an official release date, but We Got This Covered will be sure to bring you all the latest as more news develops.
