The arrival of the Straw Hat pirates grows ever closer, and the search for the legendary One Piece treasure draws nearer. Now we have an update on when we can expect them to pull into the harbor from the captain of the ship himself. No, not the captain of the Going Merry, Monkey D. Luffy, but rather the other captain. The captain. None other than the creator of the One Piece manga Eiichiro Oda. In honor of Luffy's birthday, Oda took to Netflix's socials to share an update on the streamer's upcoming live-action adaptation of his long-running manga series.
The short note, which also featured sketches of Luffy, and his crewmates Sanji, Usopp, Nami and Zoro, praised the team behind the series saying that while it hasn't always been easy, "each and every entity involved is working in sync." He also reaffirmed his commitment to taking an active role in the production of the show, which should make longtime fans happy, saying "I want to be able to supervise things while I'm still active."
As for when fans can expect to set sail with the crew? Oda said in his note that while it was announced the series would premiere in 2023, Netflix "promised that we won't launch it until I'm satisfied." But before anyone worries that this means a delay in bringing the hunt for Gol D. Roger's fabled treasure to Netflix, Oda ends his note saying the team is in the process of finishing up the series' 8 episodes and will "be setting sail very soon!" It might be Luffy's birthday, but it looks like fans are the ones that got the gift.
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Who Is In Netflix's One Piece Adaptation?
The Netflix adaptation of the expansive manga — which also boasts an anime series that has run for well over 1000 episodes — will follow the East Blue arc of the manga, the introductory arc that sees the crew of the Going Merry assemble, and follows Luffy as he first sets out to become King of the Pirates by finding the One Piece treasure.
Leading the crew as Luffy is Iñaki Godoy, with Mackenyu as the swordsman and second-in-command Zoro, Emily Rudd as ship's navigator Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp the sniper and Taz Skylar as Sanji, a chef who is more than handy in a fight. Beyond the main crew, the cast also includes Peter Gadiot, Morgan Davies, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Aidan Scott, Langley Kirkwood, Jeff Ward, Celeste Loots, Alexander Maniatis, Craig Fairbrass, Steven Ward, McKinley Belcher III, Chioma Umeala, Vincent Regan, Bianca Oosthuizen, Chanté Grainger, and Grant Ross.
There is currently no release date for the One Piece live-action adaptation. Check out Oda's full letter and Netflix's previous sneak peek at the series below:
