Time to set sail on the open seas this year with Netflix’s One Piece. The famed manga turned anime is receiving the live-action treatment and will debut its live-action series this year on the streaming service. 

*cheers in queer nerd

One Piece has left an indelible mark on the manga/anime world. Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda since, the manga has captivated manga lovers since its inception in 1997. One Piece follows the adventures of pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, as they explore the Grand Line in search of the treasure known as the “One Piece” that was left behind by famed pirate Gol D. Rogers. 

2 years after the manga debuted, the series was turned into an anime that gained just as much popularity as the manga. The manga has sold over 500 million copies and the anime has over 1000 episodes within their over two decades run. 

The manga and anime, like many other properties within these art forms, has traversed through queer-coded themes of chosen family and identity development. But One Piece has also navigated queer-coded storylines, with characters being influenced by the real people in Oda’s life. We’ll keep our fingers crossed to see what translates into the Netflix adaptation. 

Additionally, Oda was big on ensuring that the characters in One Piece spanned across various identities, which leads us to a diverse cast of characters both in the manga and anime, and within the live-action series. Cast members include Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji. These five will make up the initial cast of Straw Hat Pirates, but anyone familiar with the manga or anime knows that many more faces will show up in the crew. In March, additional cast members were announced by Netflix, including queer actors Morgan Davies and McKinley Belcher III.

The show will have Oda as an executive producer, in addition to Matt Owens and Steve Maeda as writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements will also executive produce. Publishing company Shueisha, Tomorrow Studios, and Netflix will produce the show. 

While we don’t have an exact release date, we do know that our pirate adventure begins in 2023.

Photo credit: Netflix

One Piece premieres on Netflix in 2023.