There are more people in the race to become the Pirate King, as Netflix has announced new cast members for their One Piece live-action series adaptation. Inspired by the manga by creator Eiichiro Oda, and the anime of the same name, the series will follow a group of pirates as they explore the seas in search of the One Piece, a legendary treasure that can turn someone into the Pirate King, ruler of the ocean.
The new One Piece cast members include Morgan Davies as Koby, a Marine Captain who’s saved from a life of servitude by protagonist Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy); Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as “Iron Mace” Alvida, the first antagonist Luffy must face in the seas, and who has a body so slippery that she’s capable of evading any attack; Jeff Ward as Buggy, a clown pirate who can split his body parts and reassemble them at will, and who forms a deadly alliance with Alvida; Aidan Scott as Lieutenant Commander Helmeppo, an officer of the Marine who also serves as an antagonist; McKinley Belcher III as the villain Arlong the Saw, the captain of an all fish-man crew; and Vincent Regan as Garp the Fist, Luffy’s paternal grandparent, who also becomes an antagonist.
One Piece is the latest anime turned into live-action by Netflix. In 2017, the streaming giant adapted the beloved anime Death Note into a film that was poorly received by critics and fans alike. Last year, Netflix adapted the cult classic Cowboy Bebop into a show. However, even though the series had a good reception, Cowboy Bebop was canceled after only one season, reportedly due to low viewing numbers.
With One Piece, Netflix has another shot at success, and could potentially create dozens of seasons following Oda’s original narrative. That’s because the One Piece manga is still ongoing, with 1013 episodes already published. Likewise, the anime adaptation is just a little behind, with 981 episodes already aired.
Steven Maeda will act as showrunner and executive producer on the live-action adaptation of One Piece. Maeda also acts as co-writer alongside Matt Owens. Oda will also be attached to the project, serving as an executive producer along with Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios. The series’ main cast also includes Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji.
There’s currently no release date for Netflix’s One Piece. However, since the show only entered production last month, it should take a while until we get to sail the seas by the side of Luffy and his crew.
via Collider