I can’t say I’m lacking for One Piece content in my life right now, as I’m currently in the middle of watching the anime’s Punk Hazard arc, which is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. However, I am still eagerly awaiting the next chapter of the live-action One Piece series, as it’s what drew me back to the Eiichrio Oda-created world after I’d read some of the manga in my middle school years. While an official release date isn’t technically among the things we know about One Piece Season 2, it’s looking likely it’ll be added to the list of 2025 Netflix release dates.
Fortunately, the latter half of 2024 brought a lot of news concerning these next batch of episodes, from exactly which arcs will be adapted in Season 2 to the castings of new characters and confirmations of ones returning. But assuming the signs are pointing to One Piece Season 2 debuting on the 2025 TV schedule are accurate, there are still three key castings that have yet to be announced that I’m hoping will come sooner rather than later. And before I go any further, no, I’m not talking about Luffy’s brother Ace, as it seems like Xolo Maridueña has been cast in that role.
Warning: One Piece manga/anime SPOILERS are ahead, so if you’re a fan of the live-action show and want to go into Season 2 as freshly as possible, tread cautiously.
Chopper
Unlike the other two characters who will be mentioned in this feature, we know for a fact that Chopper will appear in One Piece Season 2. I would have been shocked if he hadn’t considering he becomes one of the franchise’s most important characters when he joins the Straw Hat Pirates. But that hasn’t been concerned for months now, as we got our first look at Chopper and his distinctive pink hat last September.
That said, we’re still in the dark about who is playing Chopper, and frankly, I think we could be talking about multiple actors. The character in his human/reindeer-hybrid form looks like it will be realized through full CGI, so that would only require someone to voice him for scenes when he’s like that. If the live-action One Piece follows in the anime’s footsteps, that same voice would be used when Chopper’s in his reindeer or bulked-up human forms. However, there have also been rumors that a human actor will depict Chopper when he’s in his full human form, which leads me to wonder if that actor’s deeper voice would be used instead when Chopper is massive.
I’ve never been good at fan-castings and I don’t plan on talking about any here. However, I will say it would be fun if Brina Palencia, who voices Chopper in Funimation’s English dub, also voiced him in Netflix’s One Piece, just like how Colleen O’Shaughnessey voices Tails in both the Sonic the Hedgehog video games and movies. I want to know if Palencia’s Chopper voice coming out of a more realistic version of the character results in something just as adorable as what we get in animation.
Mr. 2
One of the highest-ranking members of the Baroque Works crime syndicate is Mr. 2, real name Bon Clay. In addition to gaining the ability to impersonate anyone they touch after eating the Clone Clone Fruit, Clay is also a powerhouse of a martial artist thanks to training in Ballet Kempo. Although they started out as a villain carrying out the orders of Baroque Works leader Mr. 0, a.k.a. Crocodile, by the end of the Alabasta arc, they became an ally to the Straw Hats and was enormous help to Luffy during the Impel Down arc.
Of course, anyone who’s already familiar with Mr. 2 knows that this is a character with problematic representation, namely with how their gender fluidity was played as a joke. That has me wondering about if Netflix’s One Piece could just leave them out of the story altogether rather walk the tightrope of depicting him in a way that doesn’t make fun of their identity, yet still having them provide some comedic relief. If I was a betting man, I think Mr. 2 will still be included in the live-action adaptation. Their disguise ability factors into Crocodile’s plans in the main Alabasta arc, which will be covered in Season 3, plus their integral to when Luffy’s going through his Impel Down journey. That said, I won’t be surprised whatsoever if the character’s flamboyance is toned way down.
Mr. 8
Miss Wednesday and Mr. 8 were two of the earliest Baroque Works members that the Straw Hats met, and we know that the former will be played by Charithra Chandran in the Netflix show. Not long after meeting them though, it was revealed that these two were actually spies from the Kingdom of Alabasta, with Miss Wednesday being Princess Nefertari Vivi and Mr. 8 being Igaram, captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard. Although it seemed at first that Igaram was killed during his attempt to steer his Baroque Works pursuers away from Vivi, who’d escaped with the Straw Hats, he was later revealed to have survived.
I can see Netflix’s One Piece handling Mr. 8 in one of two ways. First, he’s just not included in the show at all, and Vivi will have simply gone undercover in Baroque Works alone. Two, we will see someone playing Ingram, but when the times comes to have him blown up, he’ll stay dead. This is the same thing that happened with Merry in Season 1, and it’s not like Ingaram’s post-Whiskey Peak moments are absolutely crucial to the plot. Well, he did disguise himself as Vivi as the end of the Alabasta arc when she went to secretly say goodbye to the Straw Hats, but something tells me that wouldn’t fly in the live-action version.
Once any of the above three characters are finally cast in One Piece, we’ll let you know. CinemaBlend will also pass along the official Season 2 premiere when it’s announced, but for now, you can keep yourself entertained by looking over the other best shows on Netflix.
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