With the second season of Netflix’s One Piece now complete, attention is already turning to what comes next for the pirate saga.
As fans of the manga and anime know, the events of season two largely serve as a bridge to a much larger story. The new episodes push Monkey D Luffy and his Straw Hat crew into the Grand Line for the first time, adapting fan-favourite arcs including Loguetown, Little Garden and Drum Island.
Together, these storylines lay the groundwork for the Arabasta saga – one of the first truly epic turning points in Eiichiro Oda’s series, and probably the focal point for the entirety of season three.
For the actors bringing the Straw Hat crew to life, the scale of what comes next is already becoming clear. With season three having entered production in November according to Variety, the cast say the next chapter is already pushing the series into new territory.
“There are moments in season three that I feel in my heart would never have been possible on any other kind of TV show,” Taz Skylar, who plays Sanji, tells The National.
“I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of it. We definitely had a moment together where we were like, ‘Holy cow, dude, I can’t believe this is happening.’”
Skylar stops short of revealing details about what lies ahead, noting that the cast are closely watched whenever future storylines come up.
“What you underestimate is that we’ll be stared at by a team of people who will, as soon as you say ‘season three’, just appear,” he says, laughing. “But there are moments that I genuinely feel wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else.”
The expanding scope of the story is something the cast say they expected as the series moves deeper into Oda’s world.
“More. More. More. It’s just more,” says Jacob Romero Gibson, who plays Usopp. “Season one was great, but we don’t just want to recreate it. We want to do better. We want to evolve.
“If we get the opportunity to continue on, that’s exactly what all of us expect to do – deepen what we’re able to offer these characters and go deeper in the performances.
“The asks will get bigger, but we’ll also be more comfortable with each other, so we can take on more. It’s a balance of comfort, evolution and challenge.”
For Inaki Godoy, who plays optimistic pirate captain Luffy, the challenge of the role lies less in elaborate preparation than in capturing the character’s infectious energy.
“I did my homework, I did my research, and I feel very confident about what I want to achieve with this character,” he says. “I just trust the directors to tell me when something isn’t working.
“Most of the time it’s a fun energy, because Luffy is constantly having fun. As long as I’m relaxed and I’m chilling, that helps me get into whatever mood the scene requires.”
The two actors’ easy rapport mirrors the dynamism of their characters in the series. Skylar jokingly teases Godoy about his supposedly high-minded acting process.
“He’s got a lot of dream training, lots of Stanislavski,” Skylar says with a grin, referencing the famous Russian acting coach. “Lots of stretching machines he brings to work every day.”
The joke references Luffy’s unusual abilities. After eating a mystical Devil Fruit, the character gains the power to stretch his body like rubber – a defining trait that has shaped some of the series’ most memorable action sequences.
“Yeah, there's definitely a lot stretching involved for me, too,” Godoy adds.
First published in 1997, One Piece has grown into one of the most successful manga series ever created, with more than 500 million copies sold worldwide. The story follows Luffy and his crew as they travel from island to island in search of the legendary treasure known as the One Piece, confronting rival pirates, powerful warlords and the forces of the World Government along the way.
With the Arabasta storyline looming, the next chapter of the live-action series promises to expand the scale of that world even further. “Season three is going to be super cool,” Godoy says.
For now, the actors remain tight-lipped about what lies ahead. But if their hints are any indication, especially after the a universally acclaimed new season, the Straw Hat pirates may soon be sailing into their biggest adventure yet.
One Piece season two is now streaming on Netflix
