Update (9/14/23): The iconic creator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, confirmed that the hit live-action adaptation of his manga and anime has been renewed for season 2 by Netflix.
In a special announcement video, Oda spoke through a Transponder Snail and said, “Two weeks after the launch, I just received some great news. Netflix has decided to renew the show! The adventures of Iñaki and the live-action Straw Hats will continue onward!” So far, One Piece is the #1 title globally on Netflix with 37.8 million views in less than two weeks since its release.
Oda also teased that the Straw Hat Pirates might need a doctor on board for season 2, hinting at another iconic One Piece character, Tony Tony Chopper, joining the crew.
If it’s up to the producers of the hit Netflix series One Piece, which stars Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy, the premiere of a second season wouldn’t be too far away. According to Marty Adelstein, CEO of the producing company Tomorrow Studios, season 2 already has scripts ready even though the show hasn’t been officially renewed by Netflix.
Adelstein told Variety, “I think they’re trying to figure that out this week. I suspect we’ll hear from them in the next week to two weeks. There seems to be a big impetus to keep this going and to come up with a long-term strategy. So we’re just waiting for that.”
Before production begins, however, at least one major issue has to be resolved – the SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood. If that were to come to an end, Tomorrow Studios president Becky Clements said that production would “realistically, hopefully, [be] a year away, if we move very quickly, and that is a possibility.”
Adelstein believes there are still a lot of issues Netflix has to decide on before production for a second season begins. This includes how many episodes will make up a new season.
“I think [Netflix is] looking at various situations about how many episodes they do, do they break them up?” he said.
Adelstein also believes moving forward with another season also means expanding the show’s audience, which had 18.5 million views in its opening weekend.
“I think what it would need to do, and it’s been doing, is broadening out,” he said. “We’re getting a lot of family viewing and that is really the key, is to bring in the non-fans and people who aren’t aware of the IP because the show stands on its own and you get people to watch it and people really love it.”
One Piece season one is now available on Netflix.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, One Piece being covered here wouldn’t exist.