Roronoa Zoro is already one of the coolest characters in One Piece, both the animated series and live-action adaptation. But as we approach the second season of Netflix's hit series, actor Mackenyu, who brought the skilled swordfighter to life, is teasing an even "cooler" version of the character.
Speaking to Crunchyroll in a wide-ranging interview, Mackenyu was asked what it was like bringing Roronao Zoro to life once again for Season 2 of Netflix's One Piece series. The talented young actor explained that with the first season, it was mostly about finding how to bring Zoro to life on the small screen in live-action form. Now that he's done that, his goal for Season 2 was to make him "deadlier and cooler."
"The first season I was trying to find how to bring Zoro to life. That was my main goal for season one," Mackenyu explained. "But for season two, the goal was to make him a lot deadlier and cooler, just level this badass character up."
To be clear, Mackenyu's Roronoa Zoro was already a fan-favorite badass in the first season. His duel against Mihawk on the Baratie was one of the most iconic moments from the first season. And although he came out on the losing end of the fight, Mihawk -- impressed by Zoro's strong will and effort -- chose to spare his life. Using his defeat as motivation, Zoro vows to continue to train so that he may one day defeat Mihawk and become the best swordsman in the world.
Mackenyu, who admitted in the interview that he loves going to the gym, had spent much of his time in between seasons at th gym bulking up. His physical trainer even shared an image of the actor at the gym, flexing his muslces. Mackenyu has always been a fit and athletic actor, but he's definitely put in the work to help bring Zoro to life.
Netflix has not yet announced when One Piece Season 2 will premiere although there have been multiple hints that it could be this year. In addition to talking about his character in the upcoming second season, Mackenyu also let it slip that Season 3 of the hit series has already been confirmed. Netflix hasn't made such an announcement yet, but Mackenyu revealed that he has multiple projects line up for this year "before we shoot Season 3 of One Piece."
He obviously couldn't talk more about Season 3, especially as Season 2 hasn't even landed yet. But the fact he even mentioned filming suggests Netflix has already greenlit it and is just waiting for the second season to debut before making the announcement.
Season 2 is said to adapt the Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island arcs from the manga.