A new live-action One Piece television show is in development, courtesy of the streaming giant Netflix. One Piece is one of the most cherished and profitable manga series of all-time, selling over 450 million copies around the world. Appearing in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 1997, the manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda remains active and ubiquitous to this day, with a media empire spanning across all forms of entertainment.
One Piece tells the story of Monkey D. Luffy, who goes on a quest to find the "One Piece" treasure and become King of the Pirates. Along the way, he befriends several strange characters who become part of his ship crew, including swordsman Roronoa Zoro and chef Vinsmoke Sanji. Together, the Straw Hat Pirates go on an adventure in search of their treasure, running into numerous obstacles and enemies as they travel.
The NXOnNetflix Twitter account, a Netflix subset specifically focused on "geek" things, made the announcement. In addition to sharing the news about the live-action One Piece series with a brand-new graphic, they also included a quote from Oda in a thread. He expressed excitement over the possibilities that come with being a TV show produced by Netflix. Oda also revealed that the first season of the show will consist of ten episodes. Check out Netflix and Oda's joint announcement below:
In his Twitter statement, Oda also referenced that a live-action adaptation of One Piece has been in the works since 2017. He explained, "These things take time!" As of this moment, there is no further information on casting for the One Piece Netflix project and no target for when the show will reach the streaming service. Oda mentioned casting specifically in his comments, saying, "Who will be cast!? Please be patient a little longer and stay tuned!!"
Netflix pumps out prestige programs on their platform at a rapid rate, but their track record with manga properties is spotty, at best. A 2017 live-action film based on Death Wish was widely panned, earning just a 38% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (though a sequel is still in the works). Meanwhile, a Cowboy Bebop series was announced in 2018, but is seemingly no closer to a release date than it was back then. The One Piece franchise is tricky to adapt, although there's been a high volume of films, video games, and even restaurants created, the most recent movie being 2019's One Piece: Stampede. Decisions regarding casting and budget will be key factors to look out for ahead of Netflix's latest ambitious anime adaptation.
Source: NXOnNetflix