One Piece the Netflix series: release date, live action, casting … all you need to know

News culture One Piece the Netflix series: release date, live action, casting … all you need to know

What is One Piece?

One Piece is a manga series started on July 22, 1997 and created by the Japanese author and designer Eiichiro Oda. More precisely, it is a shōnen featuring the epic story of a young pirate in the making, Luffy, in search of the greatest treasure of all time: the One Piece. He is not alone in his adventure, and is joined, over the course of the story, by more and more characters, each more wacky than the next. Building on its success, an anime adaptation was quick to emerge in 1998. At present (November 2021), the manga is still not finished and will soon even begin its 1000th chapter. . The end still seems to be gradually taking shape according to the words of some experts including the author, but knowing that the new arcs rarely last less than a year, we will have to be very patient. A habit for One Piece fans.

Who is Eiichiro Oda?

Eiichiro Oda is the mangaka behind One Piece. Whether it is the drawings, the story, the unique universe, everything comes from him and his overflowing imagination. His passion for manga began when he was 14 years old and, for those who have already been interested in Vic the Viking, know that he makes many references to it in One Piece. Indeed, Oda is a great lover of the history of Vikings and piracy. Thus, these two elements gave birth to this adventure in his mind, which is now known to almost everyone. Before creating this titan of the 9th Art, Oda was not very successful, even if he had already been published in the Weekly Shōnen Jump thanks to his second version of Romance Dawn. If the name strangely reminds you of the eponymous shōnen, it is quite normal, because it is the prototype of the latter. A few months later, he will talk about him again with his first chapter of One Piece. The legend is then on.

What is the release date of the One Piece series in France?

Let’s go back in time and more exactly in July 2017. It was at this precise moment that the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen Jump announced, for the 20 years of One Piece, an adaptation in live shots. The project may well have been unveiled more than 4 years ago, the shooting did not really start until September 2020. It took place in Cape Town, South Africa. Casting problems linked to the pandemic, however, delayed the project by several months. As a result, the site had great difficulty in moving forward. In March 2021, the director returned to the limelight to reveal a code name: Project Roger. Concretely, it was a simple message intended for fans with the sole objective of reassuring them. Now let’s come back to the present. The actors and actresses have certainly been unveiled, but the release date is still a mystery. However, a future announcement is to be expected in the weeks or months to come.

The One Piece series will indeed be available on the Netflix catalog. For Japan, this is already the case for the episodes of the animated series which has just celebrated its 1000th episode. A luxury of which the French version of the SVOD platform is unfortunately private. However, this Live Action adaptation is not affected by the rule applied for the Japanese animation series. Anyway, on the day of release, it will be possible to see the ten episodes without waiting, unless Netflix decides otherwise, and applies the same strategy as for the Arcane series … which would be very surprising. As a reminder, the episodes of the Live Action Cowboy Bebop series were broadcast without delay.

What is the storyline of the One Piece series?

To avoid losing viewers who do not know One Piece, a decision was made: to adapt the first adventures of our favorite pirates. Therefore, the series is expected to begin with Luffy as a child, dreaming of becoming the Pirate King. Logically, we will see him leave his island as a teenager in search of future comrades in piracy. If you know the manga or the anime, you already know what awaits Luffy provided that the series produced by Netflix is ​​faithful to the basic material: the release of Zoro, the recruitment of Usopp, Sanji and finally Nami. . The first season is unlikely to go any further. After all, it’s already a daring gamble to translate so many story arcs into live footage in just ten episodes.

In January 2020, as the number of episodes was announced, another piece of information was revealed. Indeed, given the extremely long and rich history that One Piece represents, we wondered from what angle the showrunner was going to attack the work. The One Piece series on Netflix will begin with the East Blue saga, which is the very beginning of the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy. It’s a succession of story arcs in which our favorite pirate will recruit the first members of his crew. It remains to be seen who exactly will be affected by the 10 episodes. The search notices of the main actors have been put up, and everything suggests that the workforce will grow over time. We are not immune to a last minute surprise that would set the stage for a (hypothetical) second season.

What is the cast? For which characters?

The question that has burned the lips of more than one person since the revelation of this Live Action is this. Who are the actors and actresses who will play the Straw Hat crew? For our captain Luffy and his right-hand man Roronoa Zoro, we have the actors respectively Iñaki Godoy (Who Killed Sarah ?, The Imperfects) and Mackenyu (Pacific Rim: Uprising). The cook on duty in the person of Sanji is played by Taz Skylar (Villain, Boiling Point) while sniper performance Usopp is carried by Jacob Gibson (Blairdsen, Green Leaf). For the moment, no trace of Chopper or Nico Robin, but Nami is indeed present. She is played by Emily Rudd (Hunters, The Romanoffs). Side antagonists, there is for the moment no information to put under the saber as for the actors and actresses who will embody them.

Who is directing and scripting the One Piece series?

The showrunner behind this new One Piece series is none other than Steven Maeda. More than a director, he is above all a screenwriter who has worked on many television series such as The X-Files, Lost: The Disappeared or CSI: Miami. Despite his strong CV, he was joined in writing the screenplay by more than 10 people, including Tom Hyndman (Harley Quinn, Alcatraz) et Matt Owens (Luke Cage, Agents of SHIELD), the latter also being the lead writer. The author of the manga, Eiichiro Oda, obviously oversaw the project as executive producer, a position he shared with Steven Maeda.

Who is working on the One Piece series?

Tomorrow Studios is the studio in charge of producing this adaptation. In parallel, he is also working on the Live Action Cowboy Bebop series, and even participated in the development of the Snowpiercer series. The structure is not at its first attempt, which can somehow reassure fans. For the costumes, expect to see the ones we know so well again. To ensure optimal results, this role has been entrusted to two experts: Diana Cilliers (District 9, Chappie) and Hooded Burger (Chronicle, Dredd). If there is one element expected at the turn here, it is the special effects. Most of the characters in One Piece have strange powers that can be difficult to translate into “a real world”. This heavy task falls to Eddie Bonin (Fargo, Legion).

Do you want to know more?

• One Piece has entered the Guinness Book of Records. For good reason, in December 2014, it became the manga with the highest circulation in the world.
• Cross Epoch is a crossover born from the collaboration between Eiichiro Oda and Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of One Piece.
• Every year, the amusement park Universal Studios Japan is organizing an event based on the One Piece universe. The most recent took place in October 2021, and saw the protagonists infiltrate Wano.