Netflix is taking a stab at creating a live-action adaptation of one of the most beloved series in the history of anime — One Piece. Talk of a live-action One Piece show sprouted up in 2017 when the show was announced without Netflix’s involvement. There hadn’t been any word on the project until last year, when Netflix posted a strange listing for the show without much explanation. All speculation was put to rest, however, after an official Twitter account was launched for the One Piece Netflix series earlier today. The tweet below is a translation of a message from Eiichiro Oda, author of the original series manga.
Oda-sensei will oversee the live-action #OnePiece series by @stevemaeda and Matt Owens. @NXOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/rFrDOvakLc
— onepiecenetflix (@onepiecenetflix) January 29, 2020
According to Deadline, Tomorrow Studios and Shueisha will develop the 10-episode series, with Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) tapped as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. Meanwhile, Matt Owens (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage) is also a writer and executive producer. Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements (Cowboy Bebop, Snowpiercer) too will serve as executive producers along with Oda himself. Netflix will handle the show’s physical production.
One Piece follows the tale of Monkey D. Luffy as he journeys to become king of the pirates with his crew. The original anime premiered in 1999, but the manga itself actually released two years earlier in 1997.
This isn’t the first time Netflix has announced plans to explore existing series in the anime space. In 2018 the streaming titan announced that it had plans to create a live-action version of Cowboy Bebop, and Netflix took a crack at the Death Note series with a film interpretation in 2017.
Many feel Netflix’s Death Note didn’t serve as a strong start to these anime live-action takes, but what we’ve heard about the live-action Cowboy Bebop cast is promising, at least.
