One Piece Season 2 Renewal is Guaranteed, Scripts Are Done Already
The Beloved Show Will Be Back.
When Netflix revealed its plans to adapt the iconic Japanese manga One Piece into a live-action series in 2021, fans of Eiichiro Oda's work were somewhat apprehensive. They feared the streaming giant would mishandle the pirate saga, as they believed happened with The Witcher. Consequently, many A-list celebrities declined to join the show's cast, concerned that participating in a potential failure could damage their careers. That led Netflix to cast relatively unknown actors in the lead roles.
However, as soon as the first season started streaming earlier this month, the sceptics were proven wrong. The final product turned out to be one of the best streaming shows of the past year or so. Both long-time and new fans of One Piece commended Netflix for successfully executing the live-action adaptation of the original manga.
Beating Expectations
Although Netflix executives have not yet confirmed that One Piece will be renewed for a second season, there are signs the decision has already been made. The first season performed exceptionally well, breaking some of Netflix's long-standing records. Marty Edelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios, which produces One Piece, recently hinted that the much-anticipated season 2 might arrive earlier than expected.
'We’ve got scripts ready. somewhere between a year and 18 months, we could be ready for air. With Netflix’s support of the title, we expected it to be number one and we sensed their research and algorithms probably saw the possibility for that. But in our subsequent calls post-launch, we have been told that we have exceeded expectations, which is also fantastic,' Edelstein said.
One Remaining Issue to Sort Out
While fans were thrilled to learn that scripts for the upcoming second season are already written, one problem persists - the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. It's evident that the show can't be filmed without the actors and writers on board, so Netflix will have to wait until the strikes are resolved to resume filming, but it would appear that at this point, nobody is in a position to predict when that might happen.
Source: Variety.