The One Piece Characters Netflix Can’t Afford to Skip Before Season 3

Season 2 of Netflix's One Piece is almost here, and yeah, the new cast is already locked in. Which means it's time to look past that and ask the real question: who absolutely has to show up in Season 3 to keep this thing firing on all cylinders? If the show moves into Jaya and sets up Skypiea (which it should), these are the faces that need to be there. Not just for hype, but because the story gets way bigger and these characters are the keys that unlock it.

1. Mont Blanc Cricket
   First seen in the Jaya arc, Cricket lives in Mock Town, trades punches with the Straw Hats, and becomes their gateway to the Sky Island legends. He is tied to the infamous explorer Mont Blanc Noland, which gives him more weight than a one-off stopover. In live action, he is the perfect grounded narrator to sell the idea of islands in the clouds, while adding a little emotion to the history lesson. Small role, big ripple.
2. Mont Blanc Noland
   The so-called Noland the Liar is the backbone of the Sky Island tale. We learn his real story through flashbacks connected to Skypiea and the Shandians, and those flashbacks kick in during Jaya. Bringing Noland into Season 3 (even just in memory) adds the deeper historical mystery that Season 1 mostly sidestepped and cranks up the worldbuilding that One Piece lives on.
3. Bellamy
   Bellamy the Hyena shows up in Mock Town as the loudmouth bully who mocks dreams and gets flattened by Luffy for it. He later resurfaces in Dressrosa gunning for payback, which makes him more than a one-and-done nuisance. In Season 3, he can be a tidy antagonist to show off how far Luffy has come, while embodying the cynical side of pirate culture that thinks Sky Islands are a joke.
4. Marco
   Marco the Phoenix is Whitebeard's first division commander and a major force in the Marineford and Wano arcs. His first appearance is back in Jaya alongside the Whitebeard Pirates, which quietly sets the stage for just how massive Whitebeard's empire is. Teasing Marco in Season 3 builds suspense around Whitebeard's crew and helps viewers understand the real scale of the pirate world.
5. Doc Q
   The Blackbeard Pirates' doctor, nicknamed the Death God, looks frail but is extremely dangerous. He appears in Mock Town with Blackbeard and Van Augur during Jaya. If Season 3 adapts that arc, Doc Q needs to be there with the rest of the crew to telegraph how important Blackbeard's gang is going to be later.
6. Van Augur
   Blackbeard's sniper debuts in Mock Town and helps target the Straw Hats after learning Luffy's bounty. Their plan fizzles thanks to the Knock Up Stream, but Augur's presence matters. Season 3 is where you establish the idea that the Blackbeard Pirates are methodical, lethal, and already on the move, and a calm, deadly marksman helps sell that.
7. Sengoku
   The former Fleet Admiral is introduced post-Alabasta during Jaya, in the wake of Crocodile's defeat. He is tasked with finding a replacement Warlord and pulls the Seven Warlords into a strategy session, which lets you feel the Navy's power structure. The live-action series has done solid work with the Marines so far, but without Sengoku the picture is incomplete. He needs to enter the chat in Season 3.
8. Bartholomew Kuma
   At first, Kuma reads like a villainous Shichibukai. Then the series reframes him into one of One Piece's most tragic, quietly heroic figures. He is part of that Jaya-era Warlords discussion about replacing Crocodile, and getting him on the board in Season 3 not only spikes interest (Kuma has been trending with fans for a reason) but also sets up payoffs that reshape later arcs.
9. Donquixote Doflamingo
   The smiling nightmare. Doflamingo is introduced around the Jaya period and eventually becomes the central antagonist of Dressrosa. After his capture, he starts hinting at the ugly truths about the world and the Celestial Dragons. Drop him into Season 3 and you immediately raise the ceiling on how menacing and layered the villains can be in live action.
10. Ace
    Portgas D. Ace technically enters the story during the Drum Island arc, but his bigger beats really kick off after Jaya. He is Luffy's brother, Roger's son, and a member of Whitebeard's crew—basically a walking lore bomb and a fan favorite even years after his death. Season 2 should handle his entrance; Season 3 is where you lean into his hunt for Blackbeard and the showdown everyone knows is coming.
11. Whitebeard
    One of the Emperors of the Sea, a legend whose shadow stretches over the past, present, and future of piracy. He is first brought into the story during Jaya when Shanks sends him a letter warning about Blackbeard and urging that Ace pull back. Translating Whitebeard's sheer presence to live action is a high-wire act, but if Season 3 nails his tease, the anticipation for what's next shoots through the roof.
12. Blackbeard
    The long game villain. He appears in Jaya and is immediately positioned as Luffy's ultimate rival—ambitious enough and dangerous enough to remake the world. Recent arcs only made him more important. Netflix needs to introduce him in Season 3 to plant that rivalry early. Also, whoever they cast here could be a show-defining decision.

Bottom line: if Season 3 steers into Jaya and points the bow toward Skypiea, these 12 are the pillars. Miss too many and the saga loses its momentum. Nail them and the live-action series levels up fast.

One Piece live-action is streaming on Netflix. Who else do you want to see walk into Season 3?