Season 2 of Netflix’s One Piece adaptation could arrive as soon as next year, according to the producers of the show. Speaking to Variety, Marty Adelstein, CEO of production company Tomorrow Studios, said that the scripts for a second season are “ready,” and could go to air within a year, once the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood are resolved.
“Realistically, hopefully, a year away, if we move very quickly, and that is a possibility,” added studio president Becky Clements. “Somewhere between a year and 18 months, we could be ready for air.” It’s positive news for fans of the show, which, at the time of writing, was the number one show available on Netflix, having attracted 18.5 million viewers within the first four days after release.
The studio had expected the series to top the charts, given the marketing that Netflix had thrown behind the production, but Clements said that “in our subsequent calls post-launch, we have been told that we have exceeded expectations.” While nothing has been confirmed, the producers expect to hear from Netflix about the fate of a potential season 2 of One Piece within the next two weeks and are confident that it will be renewed.
The success of One Piece is probably not all that surprising. Its source material is the most popular manga of all time, which has already spawned an anime series with more than 1,000 episodes and counting. Plus, there’s been some very positive buzz for the series, particularly around it not needing prior knowledge of the manga or anime — as well as being a good live-action adaptation entirely on its merit. You can check out our review by Jesse Lab here.