Netflix's live-action take on One Piece not only captivated long-time followers but has also introduced many new future pirate fans to the franchise – and to great acclaim. And we finally got a first look at the upcoming season 2 and more.
The crew is (mostly) assembled, the Flying Lamb is ready, and The Straw Hats are all geared up to chase the One Piece! Brace yourselves for the Grand Line adventure, with a treasure trove of source material awaiting, Netflix better keep pace, even with the other projects they got going on!
Eiichiro Oda's legendary manga has been unfolding for an impressive 26 years, resulting in over 100 manga volumes and, inspired by them, a staggering 1,000+ anime episodes. That's a marathon of over 15 days of relentless One Piece action, so Netflix won't be running out of source material anytime soon.
The hefty investment Netflix poured into the adaptation clearly bore fruit, as One Piece not only surpassed records set by Wednesday and Stranger Things, but also lived up to the sky-high expectations of its dedicated fans.
And Season 2 is already on its way to set sail and gave us a first look at what's to come.
Netflix's One Piece: What We Know About Season 2
Here are the facts: One Piece had its premiere on Netflix on August 31, 2023 and season 2 is well on its way with a release somewhere in 2026. Netflix first revealed this amazing news in a 2023 video on their Still Watching Netflix channel on YouTube titled "A very special message from Eiichiro Oda". That just had to be good news!
I mean, Netflix has been teasing the story arcs the source material has in store, so it was pretty obvious that they had always planned to eventually bring them to life.
And now, after almost two years, the wait is almost over and Netflix has released a First Look at the new season with a small trailer.
Who's Going To Be In Netflix's One Piece Season 2?
Prepare for Iñaki Godoy to return as Luffy, Emily Rudd as Nami, Mackenyu as Zoro, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. But what about other characters? Well, there is one special little guy who has yet to show up in the show. "Adapting Chopper to live-action may be a pretty big challenge for Netflix" was the fear of many.
But in June of this year, Netflix revealed their version of the straw hats mascot doctor and everybody loved it. It even reminded some of the style of Detective Pikachu or Paddington which were both praised for their great blend of animation and live action.
Besides that, there's also iconic characters from other arcs like Logue Town or Arabasta that we'll get to see, like Callum Kerr as Smoker or Charithra Chandran as Vivi. We also get to see Lera Abova as Nico Robin, who enters the room with style and flowers. Most excitingly are the absolute powerhouses that join season 2 to lend their skills to iconic characters.
Most notably are probably David Dastmalchian joining as the wax gangster Mr. 3 and Joe Manganiello as the famous villain Mr. Crocodile. Fans went wild when they heard about Manganiellos involvement, but every addition to the cast seems just as perfect as in season one.
What Is Netflix's One Piece Season 2 Going To Be About?
What are you even doing here if you're afraid of spoilers? Last chance for you to leave!
As there's source material for days that's also over twenty years old, it's not really hard to guess where the Straw Hats are headed next. Even though the Netflix adaptation has condensed the source material – obviously for good reasons, as there's a lot – the overall arc structure has stayed pretty much the same up to this point. The trailer pretty much confirms this.
That means that season 2 will cover the gang's adventures on the Grand Line as well as Logue Town and the Arabasta arc. This also means that the show will condens a lot of the material, since Arabasta alone is one of the longest arcs of one piece.
But writer and producer Matt Owens is no fan of cramming story in, so they will probably continue with their tight but great pacing. In a Reddit AMA in 2023, he addressed a fan's question on whether Logue Town will be skipped, emphasizing that they will definitely include it in the show. This shows us their dedication to do the original material justice.
Skipped? Never! It wasn't included in season 1 because our episode number got reduced. And to try to cram it in would not have done service to it or the story it had to share space with. Loguetown is not "cut" we just haven't gotten there yet!
During the first look trailer, we got to see the giant Brogy on Little Garden, the foreboding execution platform in Loguetown and even a first glance at the giant whale Laboon. To finish the trailer off, Luffy showcases his most famous attack, the Gum Gum Gatling.
While this is obviously great news, the trailer also had one more announcement in store for us...
Season 3 Already Announced
What pretty much nobody expected were the final words of the trailer, reading "Season 3 Sets Sail Soon". Apparently filming for season 3 will already begin in fall of this year in Cape Town, South Africa. Joe Manganiello has already announced that he will reprise his role of Mr. Crocodile in season 3. This could mean that the Arabasta arc will carry over into season 3, which makes sense if you factor in the length of this one arc alone.
Until Netflix announces the exact release date of season 2, there's nothing to do but wait... and rewatch the anime, of course.