Warning: Contains spoilers for One Piece Film: Red.One Piece Film: Red is already teasing how Uta can appear in the manga. While Red isn’t canon to One Piece, as was the case with its predecessors, Uta is canon to the series based on a silhouette of her appearing in chapter 1055 of the manga. Something similar happened with One Piece Film: Strong World where, Shiki, the main antagonist of the movie, was also canon to the series, but just like with Shiki, nothing has been done with the canon version of Uta outside establishing that she exists.
That being said, One Piece Film: Red has already teased how Uta can appear in the manga through its villain, Tot Musica, the Demon King of Songs. Tot Musica is summoned when One Piece Film: Red's Uta sings the song of the same name, and some lyrics are sung in a Germanic language and written in Elder Futhark runes. That’s important because both are associated with Norse culture, meaning that Tot Musica could have a connection to Elbaf, which draws heavily on Norse culture. If that’s the case, then it could mean that Red is teasing that Uta might appear once the Straw Hat Pirates finally go to Elbaf.
Why One Piece Film: Red’s Uta Might Appear On Elbaf
It wouldn’t be impossible for Uta to appear on Elbaf, and there are plenty of reasons to justify why she would be there. For starters, with the implied connection between Tot Musica and Elbaf, Uta could be on Elbaf trying to learn more about Tot Musica, possibly how to deal with whatever a hypothetical canon version of Tot Musica is like compared to One Piece Film: Red's version. Not only that, but a canon version of Uta might have rejoined the Red Hair Pirates at some point, so she could be there because the entire crew is on Elbaf as they’re making a serious effort to find the One Piece.
Why Uta Needs To Appear In The One Piece Manga
The specific justifications for how Uta could appear in the One Piece manga aside, Uta needs to appear in the manga because of how much she would be able to add to the story. One Piece Film: Red did a lot to establish how important a person she was to both Luffy and Shanks, and their relationships with her did a lot to flesh out their characters and add new depth to all of their actions and motivations. Having Uta appear in the manga would allow the manga to further explore that development, and the One Piece manga would certainly benefit from that, especially with it entering its final saga.
There’s no way of knowing if Uta will ever appear in the One Piece manga, but since Tot Musica invokes Norse culture in a way, it could be that One Piece Film: Red is hinting that Uta will appear on Elbaf. It would be easy enough to justify her appearance in the manga, and above all else, the manga would only benefit from her inclusion thanks to her relationships with Luffy and Shanks. One Piece has been building up the Straw Hat Pirates’ journey to Elbaf for over twenty years, and One Piece Film: Red's Uta being part of it would help to sell its payoff even more.