One Piece Live-Action Creative Team on the Future of the Show, Working With Oda, and Whether We'll See a Fan-Favorite Character in Season 3

Once thought impossible, Netflix and Tomorrow Studios actually pulled off a live-action adaptation of One Piece. Not only were fans pleasantly surprised by the first season, the follow-up was received even better and the crew is currently shooting the third season. Following the second season premiere, we chatted to executive producer and Tomorrow Studios president Becky Clements, co-showrunner Joe Tracz, and writer Ian Stokes, who’s been promoted to co-showrunner for Season 3. We learned what it was like to work with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, why they included some surprise characters in the show, and how long they see the show going. But first, I was curious to see how they consumed One Piece: manga or anime? Becky Clements: Manga. Always manga, never anime for a number of reasons. It's already hard to go manga to live action, and to add that interim piece where it's manga to anime to live action felt like we would be losing some of the beauty and purity of the manga. Because anime is a moving image, it may have more of an effect on our live action shows. And even when we were in casting, we would ask representatives and actors to only read the manga if they didn't