In a recent Instagram live chat,One Piece star Mackenyu offered fans a bit of insight into the upcoming second season of Netflix's live-action series. While there were no major spoilers revealed, the actor — who plays Roronoa Zoro in the show — specifically praised the action in Season 2.
While the first season of Netflix's live-action adaptation of the beloved manga and anime series was universally praised by critics and fans alike, there were some areas of improvement. The action, while entertaining, was probably one of the weakest points of the series. But according to Mackenyu, fans can expect better in Season 2.
A condensed tweet summing up Mackenyu's live chat, confirms that the action in Season 2 will "definitely be better" than the first season. It's not that the action in Season 1 was bad, per se, but Mackenyu wanted it to go faster and harder. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions put in place during Covid, Mackenyu wasn't able to bring his stunt team with him to South Africa from Japan. And apparently, the local stunt talent in South Africa just couldn't keep up with him. With Season 2, there are no such travel restrictions, so it will be interesting to see what Mackenyu and his stunt team can cook up.
Fans have already gotten a glimpse of the incredible body transformation of Mackenyu over the break. His physical trainer, Lloy Naicker, took to Instagram a few weeks ago to praise the actor's hard work at the gym in between seasons.
Mackenyu, of course, plays the former bounty hunter turned Straw Hat Pirate, Roronoa Zoro is a highly skilled swordsman and master of the Three Sword Style. He's one of the Straw Hats' best fighters and dreams of becoming the world's strongest swordsman. His duel against Dracule Mihawk was one of the great action sequences in the first season, so I can't wait to see how they improve upon some of this.
Mackenyu also reportedly commented on Chopper. While Netflix hasn't really addressed how they plan to bring the reindeer to life in the series, Mackenyu did refer to it as "very cute." Fans recently took to the internet for some investigative work and they think they found at least one of the actors playing Chopper in Season 2.
Season 2 of Netflix's One Piece series is currently filming in South Africa. Shooting is expected to run through December of this year.
Netflix has not yet announced a premiere date for Season 2, but it's widely speculated that the highly anticipated sophomore season could debut in 2025.