One Piece is a legendary franchise. Ever since it started in the pages of Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1997, the adventures of rubber-powered pirate Monkey D. Luffy have entranced and enthralled fans, thanks to creator Eiichiro Oda’s fantastic writing and charming artwork. The series has spawned an extremely popular anime, and soon it will be turned into a live-action series.
This live-action series was first announced in 2017 before the project went quiet for several years. Then, in 2020, it was announced that Netflix had ordered a season of ten episodes and that casting and filming would be starting soon. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the production to go silent once more.
However, creator Eiichiro Oda has shared a message about the project on Twitter. This message is hand-written and features a sketch of an excited Luffy. The statement starts with Oda noting that he has been working on the live-action project with Netflix and Tomorrow Studios for several years now. But despite the slow speed, Oda reassures fans that things are progressing behind the scenes and that they’re finally able to announce the main cast. With Oda joking that he was told to do it now before the cast was inevitably leaked online.
While a leak did manage to happen today, the rest of the message is still wonderful!
Oda explains that the cast was decided after numerous discussions with people as they wanted to make sure the people looked right and had the aura and the acting skills to pull off their role within the Straw Hat pirates, as well as fitting with the other members of the cast.
To conclude, Oda says that the show will require more work before it gets released, but they’ll do their best to deliver a series that they’re confident will be enjoyed by everyone around the world.
The One Piece live-action series will see Iñaki Godoy, most known for his role in Who Killed Sara? in the role of Monkey D. Luffy. He will be supported by Fear Street‘s Emily Rudd, who will be playing fan-favorite character Nami. Ruroni Kenshin: Final Chapter star Mackenyu will take the role of swordsman Roronoa Zoro and Taz Skylar will play Vinsmoke Sanji. Finally, Romero Gibson will be playing the part of the Straw Hat pirate’s sniper Usopp.
Fans are excited to hear that Eiichiro Oda is still heavily involved in the project. While the live-action One Piece has been in development for a long time. Oda’s track record has shown that his work is always worth the wait. And that, if he is happy with the casting, fans can be sure of a series that captures all of the heart and excitement of the original manga.