It took Netflix just two weeks after the premiere of its live-action One Piece adaptation to renew the series for a second season. With anticipation continuing to build weekly with casting news announcements, Netflix has officially confirmed that filming has begun on Season 2 of the hit show.
The announcement was made on social media with a video showing the actors who portray the Straw Hat Pirates reunited on the set in South Africa. It's a rather heartwarming video as Iñaki Godoy (Monkey D. Luffy), Mackenyu (Roronoa Zoro), Emily Rudd (Nami), Jacob Gibson (Usopp), and Taz Skylar (Sanji) meet up at Cape Town and proudly proclaim: "To the Grand Line!"
Netflix hasn't revealed any specific plot details, although teaser videos and casting announcements have all but confirmed Season 2 will adapt the Arabasta Saga. A recent casting call seemingly confirmed Season 2 will consist of eight episodes.
Back in May, Netflix released a video celebrating the One Piece anime's 25th anniversary which referenced Mr. 3 from the Baroque Works criminal syndicate. Speculation that Netflix will be adapting the Arabasta Saga gained more traction when the streaming service announced several new additions to the cast, including:
- Daniel Lasker (Raised by Wolves) as Mr. 9
- Camrus Johnson (Batwoman) as Mr. 5
- Jazzara Jaslyn (Warrior) as Miss Valentine
- David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil) as Mr. 3
- Werner Coetser (Getroud met rugby) as Dorry
- Brendan Murray (Raised by Wolves) as Brogy
- Clive Russell (Game of Thrones) as Crocus
- Callum Kerr (Monarch) as Smoker
- Julia Rehwald (Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures) as Tashigi
- Rob Colletti (The Many Saints of Newark) as Wapol
- Ty Keogh (24 Hours To Live) as Dalton
Many of these characters are prominent figures in the Arabasta Saga, including the Reverse Mountain, Little Garden, Drum Island, and Arabasta Arcs.
With filming now officially underway, it should hopefully mean that One Piece will return in 2025, which has been the projected release window for a while now. A recent Production Weekly issue posted in mid-March said filming was expected to last around seven months, which would take us through late January. That's around the same length it took to shoot Season 1, which was filmed between January and August 2022. The first season of the live-action series debuted a year later in August 2023. This could mean that Season 2 will hopefully premiere sometime in late 2025.
Season 1 of Netflix's One Piece series was met with glowing reviews from critics and fans alike. The series, which is an adaptation of the popular Japanese manga (and anime series), follows the adventures of young pirate Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) as he sails across the seas with his Straw Hats gang — swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), cartographer Nami (Emily Rudd), storyteller Usopp (Jacob Romero), and chef Sanji (Taz Skylar) -- on a quest to find the infamous pirate Gold Roger’s (Michael Dorman) mysterious treasure, the One Piece, and become the King of the Pirates. Season 1 was Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 85% among critics, and an even more impressive 95% with general audiences.