Pirates are awesome. Pirates are so. Cool. They’re like cowboys! But on the high seas! They also curse more, and instead of whiskey they drink rum! I’m a constant proponent for more pirate movies, TV shows, video games–anything. In a sense, the announcement from Netflix of a live action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s long-running, smash hit manga One Piece is me fishing my wish.
The announcement reveals that Tomorrow Studios will be collaborating with Netflix on the ten-episode series, adding to their roster of anime/manga adaptations alongside the in-production Cowboy Bebop series also being developed for Netflix. Bebop stars John Cho in the role of spacefaring bounty hunter Spike Spiegel, and is currently on hiatus after Cho suffered an injury on set.
With an ongoing manga series that began in 1997 (and an anime adaptation started in 1999), One Piece follows the salty adventures of Monkey D Luffy, an ambitious and free-wheeling young pirate whose eclectic crew (including a tri-wielding swordsman and some sort of reindeer creature) compliment his own Reed Richardsesque elastic superpowers. A normal pirate tale this is not. Coming up against all sorts of fantastic pirate crews and nautical nefariousness, Luffy’s crew seeks the titular One Piece treasure in a bid for fortune and glory, as all proper pirates seek.
Details on the adaptation are sparse, but we do know that original creator Oda will executive produce while the show will be run by Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) and Matt Owens (Agents of SHIELD, The Defenders).
A date has not yet been set, but here’s to hoping that a live action adaptation of the franchise is able to capture all of the bonkers characters and vibrancy of the manga and anime.
‘One Piece’ Live-Action Series, Based on Best-Selling Manga, a Go at Netflix [The Hollywood Reporter]
