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If you loved Season 1 of the One Piece live-action series as much as we did, you’re undoubtedly counting the days until Season 2 finally arrives. There is much in store for both veteran and new fans, as the amazing production team continues to reveal bits and pieces every day. Although we still donโt have a definitive release date, letโs unravel everything we know so far: what to expect, what not to expect, and what Iโm personally most excited about.
Which Arcs Will Season 2 Cover?
August was an eventful month for One Piece fans, as the series’ creator, Eiichiro Oda, surprised us with an unexpected message filled with hints about Season 2. Here’s what he shared:
Yes, the live-action One Piece is currently in production, with filming well underway. The story will cover Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island! Think about it. Imagine how much itโll cost! Lol. But whether itโs the script or the cast, I continue to insist on this or that, which makes Matt, the showrunner, go โAaarrgh!โ and Netflix go โNoooo!โ and Tomorrow Studios go โWhaaaatโ as they all pull their hair out. All that, even though we grew so close making s…
But itโs because we all share the same passion for this show! Just as with last season, theyโve gone out of their way to promise that they wonโt release the show until Iโm satisfied. This isnโt in the contract, you know. Itโs a verbal pledge. I hope you can appreciate how amazing and determined they are for keeping their word. And theyโve certainly proven their ability to bring this world to the screen. I just canโt wait to see it!
Meanwhile, the previously announced cast is compiled on the official X account, so go check it out. The Grand Line is an even more expansive โWorld.โ You may wonder: What was the inspiration behind that kingdom? How does it connect to the real world? Naturally, the distinctive cast members have been assembled from around the globe, and I canโt help but get excited thinking about how the adventure has already begun!
Among those yet to be announced, what about Vivi? And Miss All Sunday? What are they doing with Chopper? We canโt announce everyone all at once, but starting tomorrow, weโll be revealing more cast members over three days: August 21, 22, and 23. Look out for those, and stay tuned for more exciting updates to come!
โEiichiro Oda
You read that right: Season 2 will cover Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island. Unfortunately, this means we shouldnโt expect Arabasta in all its glory in this installment. Personally, Arabasta is one of my favorite arcs, and I know many of you expected it to take center stage in Season 2. However, the buildup required for this major arc needs to leave an impact on both veterans and newcomers for maximum effect.
While weโll see the iconic saga set in motion in Season 2, the key events will unfold in Season 3. For example, Season 2 will feature Reverse Mountain, followed by Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and finally Drum Island. This pacing allows Season 3 the screen time needed to fully focus on Arabasta, which, honestly, we canโt complain about. Rest assured, this epic tale wonโt be rushed thanks to the incredible care of showrunner Matt Owens and the legendary mangaka himself.
Check out the Set Tour brought to you by the Clown Prince, Buggy, himself here:
Considering the arcs they wish to cover, we can speculate that Season 2 will have an extended episode count compared to Season 1, and we are all for it. Joe Tracz, who was announced as One Piece‘s new co-showrunner, stated that we can expect โan even more giant Season 2,โ hinting at a much higher runtime, production scale, and, of course, a massive budget!
Casting Reveals Thus Far
Season 1 made us all fall in love with Iรฑaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. It goes without saying that these guys will be reprising their roles in Season 2. Additionally, we can expect appearances from Morgan Davies as Koby, Vincent Regan as Vice Admiral Garp, Peter Gadiot as Shanks, and Jeff Ward as Buggy the Clown.
Now letโs look at the brand-new faces we will be seeing in the order of official announcements. As of June 25, 2024, Netflix announced Daniel Lasker as Mr. 9, Camrus Johnson as Mr. 5, David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3, and Jazzara Jaslyn as Miss Valentine. The Baroque Works agents are in the house!
Next, on June 26, Netflix further announced Clive Russell as Crocus, ready to guide the ships coming down from Reverse Mountain onto the Grand Line. Alongside him, Werner Coetser as Dorry and Brendan Murray as Brogy were also announced, so prepare for the mayhem stirred by the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates!
Netflix continued to bombard us with new reveals on June 27 as well, unveiling Callum Kerr as Smoker and Julia Rehwald as Tashigi, making it clear that the Marines are on the move. Alongside this duo, Rob Colletti as Wapol and Ty Keogh as Dalton were revealed, setting the stage for the Drum Kingdom!
But we werenโt in the big leagues just yet, as Oda had already teased the appearance of Doctor Kureha in Season 2. While Jaimie Lee Curtis was initially sought for the role, she had to pass on the chance due to her busy schedule. However, the president of Tomorrow Studios, Becky Clements, stated that they found another amazing person to become our Kureha on August 21, 2024: Katey Sagal. And right alongside her in iconic fashion, Mark Harelik as Dr. Hiriluk was announced! Clearly, you know where this is headedโฆ
Next came the announcement of Sendhil Ramamurthy as Nefertari Cobra on August 22, 2024. This was followed up by the major reveal of Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, also known as Nefertari Vivi, on the very next day. The star stated:
“I am so excited to be joining the cast of One Piece, and I feel incredibly grateful to Oda Sensei for trusting me with the role of Vivi. I know how much she means to all of you, and I am going to work my hardest to do her justice and make you all proud.”
The two most important players of the Arabasta Kingdomโs royal family are set!
But the BIGGEST reveal of all arrived on September 19, 2024, when Netflix finally announced Joe Manganiello as Mr. 0, better known as Crocodile, and Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday, fan-beloved as Nico Robin, herself! With the vice president of the Baroque Works and future Straw Hat settled, you just know things are going to be HOT!
Might we add that these two are our favorite casting choices thus far? Itโs almost like they were born for these timeless roles and nobody else could have portrayed them better. Of course, these are high-impact roles, and we cannot wait to see these actors give their all to bring Crocodile and Robin to life! All things considered, most eyes are on them, and expectations are high, but we have faith because…
This heartfelt message was given to the ever-loyal One Piece fandom by the stunning Lera Abova on Instagram.
Catch their exclusive interview here:
But wait, with both Doctor Kureha and Dr. Hiriluk confirmed, we seem to be missing a major piece of the puzzle. Thatโs right: Season 2 is where we will FINALLY see the highly-anticipated Tony Tony Chopper! Honestly, we and a lot of fans were worried about how they would bring the beloved Straw Hat mascot to life, but the sneak peek we got so far is promising with very impressive CGI. Watch the video yourself and see:
Courtesy of 2024’s Geeked Week, we got this behind-the-scenes look at the Reindeer from the first table read of Season 2. We only saw Chopper from the back, but the biggest question to be answered is: Who is going to voice Chopper?
Release Date?
No, we do not have a proper release date just yet, but we do know that filming is already underway. Netflix announced that they began production in South Africa on July 1, 2024, giving us a nice little video of the main cast making their way to Cape Town and enjoying a heartfelt reunion…
The ever-dashing Mackenyu further confirmed this by posting a photo of the shadows of the main cast on-site (probably)!
Becky Clements confirmed that filming is expected to go into December as well. Taz Skylar even commented that the gang is in for a โlong stint,โ as the One Piece live action was also affected by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, leading to delayed production. While Matt Owens revealed that the writers’ room reopened in October 2023, Oda has asked fans to be patient for the perfected product. We can speculate the release will fall somewhere in the second half of 2025, but none of that is confirmed just yet!
What to Expect
The main theme for Season 2 appears to be โthe challenge of leadership.โ Matt Owens states:
“From Luffyโs perspective, heโs got his crew now, and they are setting out to the Grand Line. Theyโre doing the thing, and there are a lot of challenges that come with that responsibility. And that theme ties into some other stories and characters that I wonโt give away just yet. But the challenge and leadership is a big theme for us in Season 2.โ
Smoker was teased at the Season 1 finale and is set to be part of Season 2.
โThat character in the end is a very important character moving into our next season, and as Garp says to [Luffy] as well, youโre on your own. While Garp may have been the Marine who was testing Luffy, not every Marine is going to give him any leeway because of who his grandfather might be. And so weโre going to see this very powerful, very driven marine as a major antagonist moving forward in the story.โ
Since we are heading toward the Arabasta Arc, we can expect plenty of screen time for the criminal network Baroque Works. If your memory is good, you may even remember how Mr. 7 attempted to recruit Zoro to the organization in Season 1, but ended up… not so great. Parts of the Drum Island Arc and Loguetown Arc are expected, thanks to casting reveals as well. So prepare for an innovative mixed bag of stories in Season 2, which is both refreshing and loyal to the source material.
Netflix was not done teasing us either, because they released an official photo of the new scripts, particularly for the first episode of Season 2: โThe Beginning and the End,โ written by Matt Owens and Ian Stokes. Some awesome Easter eggs in the photo include Zoro’s new Katana and Usopp’s Sniper Goggles, both of which are acquired during the Loguetown Arc.
Conclusion
Thatโs all we know so far, folks! While much is still unknown, we have more than enough material to start theorizing and predicting what One Piece live action Season 2 has in store for us. This is the only anime/manga live-action series that has been a resounding success, and one of the main reasons for it is Odaโs involvement in the production. After all, even Oda-sensei seems to be having a swell time teasing fans by throwing crumbs to us in the most unexpected ways. One thing is for sure: the whole team behind this project is extremely passionate about One Piece and it SHOWS!
