Production on a Netflix’s live-action adaptation ofOne Piecehas officially begun, two years after the official announcement of the project. Netflix has not yet released a premiere date for the first season, but has revealed it will include ten episodes.
Netflix officially announced a live-action adaptation of the popular manga and anime series,One Piece, back in January 2020, but development was put on hold shortly after due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The live-action adaptation will feature all the loved characters from the anime, which includes Nami (Emily Rudd), Usopp (Romaro Gibson), Sanji (Taz Skylar), and, of course,Monkey D. Luffy(Iñaki Godoy).
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News on thelive-actionOne Pieceserieshad been scarce until last Tuesday, when Netflix Geeked took to Twitter to share pictures of the cast along with an announcement that production has officially begun on the much-anticipated adaptation. Production is still in the beginning stages of filming, so there is no word yet as to when fans can expect to see the adaptation. The streaming platform has also revealed the first episode will be titled “Romance Dawn,” named after two stories written byOne Piececreator Eiichiro Oda in junior high that would eventually become the inspiration for the manga and anime series years later. Steven Maeda, who has written for popular shows likeThe X-FilesandCSI: Miami, will act as showrunner, executive producer, and co-writer along with Matt Owens.
This adaptation will not be Netflix’s first venture into the world of anime. A live-action adaptation of the popular animeBleachappeared on the streaming service back in 2018 and, more recently, alive-actionCowboy Bebopbegan streaming on the platform. However, not all adaptations are created equal and while the live-actionBleachearned a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes,Cowboy Bebopwas canceled after only one season. The adaptation ofCowboy Bebopdisappointed a lot of the anime’s fans by changing story elements that some thought did not land well.
Details on the story of thelive-actionOne Pieceadaptationand what could possibly be changed from the popular anime have not been released by Netflix. Given some viewers' negative reactions to the prior live-action adaptations of popular anime, theOne Pieceproject could either be another adaptation that misses the mark with the anime’s audience or an interesting new ride for viewers. It is too early and details are far too scarce to make either assumption just yet.
