Netflix's One Piece Season 2 Renewal Theory Connects It to Star Wars
Looks like Netflix is trying to catch up with Star Wars in terms of profits.
It would appear that Netflix is striving to make more money than Star Wars. With one of the largest fan bases globally, One Piece has gained even more followers thanks to Netflix's successful live-action adaptation. This success was somewhat unexpected, particularly considering the numerous failed book and anime adaptations. One Piece’s new fans are now beginning to explore Eichiro Oda's manga and anime.
Which intellectual property (IP) has enjoyed similar popularity, giving rise to dozens, if not hundreds, of spin-offs, comic books, and video games? Of course, it's Star Wars, a never-ending story set in a galaxy far, far away where outer space replaces the ocean and spaceships replace naval vessels.
Despite numerous challenges, Disney and Lucasfilm keep releasing new shows, with new seasons being announced seemingly out of the blue, and this approach seems to have influenced Netflix's swift renewal of One Piece. The reason, fans believe, is merchandising.
One Piece Renewal
Netflix has announced that the second season of One Piece is already in active development, a mere two weeks after the release of the first season. While the live-action pirate adventure was one of the highest-rated shows in its initial days, such a quick renewal is highly unusual for the streaming service.
Hits like Stranger Things and The Sandman have typically announced new seasons several months after the previous one, not to mention Netflix's habit of canceling its most popular IPs.
Popularity of Star Wars
The speedy renewal of One Piece echoes the production strategy adopted by Lucasfilm for shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka.
The reason? It's not just high fan demand. Disney is raking in billions from merchandise, selling toys featuring the current Star Wars mascot, Grogu, as well as replica lightsabers and a range of character figures from Hasbro.
One Piece Merch
Now, fans are speculating that this could be the reason why Netflix announced season two of One Piece so quickly. If this is the case, we can expect Netflix to turn (or at least try to turn) One Piece into a huge franchise in the coming years.
'Looking at the viewership figures, I'm sure the anime views got a huge boost and there is probably a merchandising deal with Netflix included,' a fan said.
Netflix has likely already negotiated an agreement with Shueisha, the publishing company that holds the rights to One Piece, concerning various merchandise items that both companies will promote. For instance, Tony Tony Chopper, a lovable reindeer and Luffy's companion who has yet to appear in the series, holds great potential to generate substantial revenue for Netflix if it was to be manufactured and offered to fans as an action figure/toy.
Source: Reddit.