Five main characters have been cast in the Netflix adaptation of the anime, One Piece, the cast and creator of the manga share their thoughts.
This week brought exciting news for both Netflix and the future of Japanese content on the streaming platform. One of the most talked about subjects was the reveal of five of the Straw Hats cast members planning to set sail in the live-action show adapted from the anime, One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda.
Here is a list of the currently announced cast stars as shown from the Twitter post video on the One Piece account:
- Iñaki Godoy (Go, Youth!, Who Killed Sara?) as Luffy
- Mackenyu (Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter, Pacific Rim: Uprising) as Zoro
- Emily Rudd (Fear Street, Hunters) as Nami
- Jacob Romero Gibson (Greenleaf, All Rise) as Usopp
- Taz Skylar (Boiling Point, Villain) as Sanji
For those who are not familiar with the Japanese manga or anime, the show is called One Piece and focuses on a young man named Monkey D. Luffy—who wants to become the king of pirates as he journeys to find the mysterious “One Piece” treasure. One Piece has grown to be a worldwide phenomenon as the manga has 100 volumes (the 101st is expected to be released in December 2021), the anime show has 20 seasons and 14 animated films to date.
The Netflix live-adaptation is expected to feature 10 episodes, but the runtime for each episode is unclear. Oda does not say much about the release date or any further details pertaining to the show. Oda did state that they are “making steady progress” and “it’ll take a bit more time to get this show done.” Fans have mixed opinions on live-action adaptations, especially after the disappointing American live-action film of the anime, Death Note, that also aired on Netflix.
The Twitter video shows off some different personalities of the cast members. The one thing they seemed to have in common is that they are all excited to be taking part in the daunting project and also showing off their custom “One Piece Netflix Season 1″ t-shirts. There is an awesome and interesting array of actors who come from different backgrounds and culture, so that is always a nice thing to be considered.
The series will be exclusively streaming on Netflix and Oda will serve as the executive producer. Tomorrow Studios is partnering with Marty Adelstein (Prison Break, Teen Wolf) and ITV Studios to produce the show. Matt Owens (Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) will serve as the writer while Steven Maeda and Becky Clements will also be executive producers. Back at Jump Fiesta in 2017, Adelstein did mention that the Netflix adaptation will start with the “East Blue arc” and will “broaden from there”—also, they promised to create “a true One Piece” with the show.
The latest anime-to-live-action series slated on Netflix is Cowboy Bebop coming out November 19, 2021. Hopefully, this will be the start of the redemption arc for Netflix live-action anime adaptations.
