One Piece live-action adaptation series is officially happening on Netflix. The plan was first announced back in 2017 but no further details were revealed at the time. Then, in 2020, it was confirmed that the streaming platform ordered 10 episodes for the first season.
Based on Eiichiro Oda's manga series of the same name, One Piece will be produced by Tomorrow Studio. Oda, along with Tomorrow Studios CEO Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements, serves as executive producers. Matt Owens will be the showrunner.
Speaking to SyFy Wire in May 2020, Adelstein said that the live-action series will kick-off filming in Cape Town in August of the same year. But then, the production was pushed back due to the COVID1-19 pandemic. In September, Owens also confirmed that casting hasn't yet commenced.
But, although the cast list hasn't been revealed, a lot of names have been floated to star in the live-action series. Emily Rudd, in particular, is one of the top candidates since her name has been on-and-off on the IMDb page of the show.
Meanwhile, some fans, reportedly, saw the production team in Cape Town throughout February and March 2021. Some behind-the-scenes photos also showed a glimpse of the pirate ships. A source familiar with the production further claimed that three pirate ships were made for One Piece.
The live-action series is said to begin with the East Blue arc. The story will cover the recruitment of Sanji, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro. In addition, it will see the fight of Luffy against Arlong. Aside from that, it is unknown what else will be tackled from the source material.
One Piece is set in the "Golden Age of Pirates." Only the ruthless pirates rule the sea and the strongest ones have the chance to claim the treasure known as "One Piece." The titular treasure was left by the greatest pirate Gol D. Roger.
A young boy named Monkey D. Luffy is dreaming of raising his own crew to find the treasure and declared himself as Pirate King. He gained a unique power, which is stretching his body like rubber, after eating a devil fruit. This allows him to have enormous strength and agility.
When he reached the right age, Luffy sails from Foosha Village in East Blue. He begins his grand adventure in searching for the treasure and becoming the next Pirate King. This is where the upcoming live-action series kicks off the story.
One Piece is expected to premiere in late 2021 or early 2022 on Netflix.
