Netflix's live-action adaptation of the highly-successful manga series One Piece has officially resumed work following a lengthy delay. Created by Eiichiro Oda, the long-running One Piece manga began in 1997. Over the years, however, it has grown into a fully-formed media franchise, expanding into films, video games, and a long-running anime series that remains one of the most popular shows within the genre. One Piece follows a young man named Monkey D. Luffy who sets off on a quest to find the titular One Piece treasure, which will allow him to become the King of the Pirates.
Luffy's story has taken many twists and turns and has been depicted in numerous ways. Oda has been working on getting a live-action One Piece made ever since 2017, but the ball only really seemed to get rolling last year. In January 2020, Netflix announced a live-action One Piece series is in development, with Oda working alongside showrunner Steven Maeda. Few updates emerged since that initial announcement, largely because the coronavirus pandemic disrupted work. One Piece was hardly the only show affected, as Netflix had to suspend numerous productions throughout the year.
Finally, though, One Piece is getting back to work. Maeda took to social media yesterday to confirm he's back in the office working on the series following its hold last year. Though One Piece had to delay production, Maeda said "we haven’t stopped working to bring @onepiecenetflix to life." He also thanked fans for their patience and the many suggestions they've provided. You can see Maeda's full post down below.
Rumors swirled last year suggesting casting for the live-action series had begun. However, writer Matt Owens debunked them in September, stating One Piece did not have a cast yet. Odds are, the casting process was one of the many things halted by the pandemic, further slowing One Piece's progress. Now that Maeda and his team are back in the office, however, the series can finally start to move forward in a meaningful way. They can assemble a cast soon and perhaps even begin filming within this year.
If that hypothetical timeline pans out, Netflix's live-action One Piece still won't arrive until 2022 at the earliest. As the series was officially announced just last year, that wouldn't be too long of a gap. After all, Avatar: The Last Airbender fans are still waiting for Netflix's live-action take on the series, which was properly announced all the way back in 2018. It isn't quite clear as to just how much work One Piece has to do before filming can start, but fans can rest assured production has finally resumed.
Source: Steven Maeda/Instagram