It's time to set sail once more to the Grand Line. One Piece season 2 is shaping up nicely, with new cast members being added to the Netflix adaptation and filming kicking off in Cape Town, South Africa. Not long now, we hope, until viewers are reunited with Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat gang.
With thousands of pages of Eiichiro Oda's manga left to adapt, there are plenty of ports of call for showrunners Matt Owens, Steven Maeda to bring to screen. That said, we have a firmer idea on where season 2 will take us plot-wise thanks to a clutch of new cast arrivals, as well as the first season's big finale and post-credits scene.... which we do, below.
Though we most likely won't be getting a release date anytime soon, we do have a release window. There's also the anime spin-off announcement that Netflix announced and news of a potential season 3 to dive into.
While you wait for One Piece season 2, scroll on to find out more about what everyone's favorite pirates' next voyage could entail...
One Piece season 2 release date speculation
While we don't have a release date, we do have a release window: One Piece season 2 is set to hit Netflix sometime in 2025.
The second season was officially confirmed in a video by Netflix, featuring creator Eiichiro Oda saying, "It seems people around the world have been enjoying the show, which makes the hard work from the production team truly worth it. To everyone who's been a fan of One Piece for years, and to those who experienced One Piece for the first time, thank you so much. Two weeks after the launch, I just received some great news. Netflix has decided to renew the show! The adventures of Iñaki and the live-action Straw Hats will continue onward!"
Filming is now underway, too, as revealed by Netflix's official Twitter account.
An estimated wrap of January 2025 means this is a similar production length to the first, which shot for six months.
One Piece initially aired one year after filming wrapped on its first season. While we don't predict that lengthy of a turnaround again, we would be very surprised to see One Piece season 2 drop before mid-2025, with later in the year being a distinct possibility.
Season 3 is also reportedly being filmed at the same time, which could mean an even shorter wait for the third installment.
One Piece season 2 cast: who could join the Straw Hats?
First up, it's apparent that the bulk of the main cast will return in One Piece season 2. That includes Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), Nami (Emily Rudd), Zoro (Mackenyu), Sanji (Taz Skylar), and Usopp (Jacob Romero).
Other standouts, such as Buggy the Clown (Jeff Ward, who you may know from a stint in the MCU), Koby (Morgan Davies), and Luffy's grandfather Monkey D. Garp (Vincent Regan) should all be back, too. If you're familiar with the source material, you'll be acutely aware that characters such as Shanks (Peter Gadiot) and Alvida (Ilia Isorelýs Paulino) will have a more significant role to play down the line.
Looking ahead, fans are getting excited about which characters could debut in One Piece season 2. On June 25, it was announced that Daniel Lasker, Camrus Johnson, Jazzara Jaslyn, and David Dastmalchian would be joining the crew as Mr. 9, Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, and Mr. 3, respectively. In the manga series, the quartet are members of the Baroque Works group, a criminal syndicate whose ultimate goal is to take over the Arabasta Kingdom.
On June 26, Netflix announced Clive Russell as Crocus, Werner Coetser as Dorry, and Brendan Murray as Brogy. The next day, the streamer announced Julia Rehwald as Tashigi, Ty Keogh as Dalton, Ro Colletti as Wapol, and Callum Kerr as Smoker – the big bad teased in the season 1 post-credits scene.
Elsewhere, Jamie Lee Curtis has expressed interest in bringing Drum Island doctor Kureha to life and, frankly, we're completely down with that.
Other new characters who should be introduced, depending on what's being adapted (more on that below), include former lighthouse keeper-turned-doctor Crocus, Officer Agent Bon Clay, Princess Vivi, Baroque Works president Crocodile, and vice-president Robin.
Two characters who are almost certainly joining the series are Smoker – glimpsed at the end of the first season – and Chopper, who we see a drawing of in the One Piece season 2 announcement video.
Though not a casting update, showrunner Steven Maeda is stepping down and Percy Jackson and the Olympians writer Joe Tracz is taking over. Matt Owens will stay on as co-showrunner.
The official cast list – so far – is as follows:
- Iñaki Godoy – Monkey D. Luffy
- Emily Rudd – Nami
- Mackenyu – Roronoa Zoro
- Jacob Romero Gibson – Usopp
- Taz Skylar – Sanji
- David Dastmalchian – Mr. 3
- Jazzara Jaslyn – Miss Valentine
- Camrus Johnson – Mr. 5
- Daniel Lasker – Mr. 0
- Clive Russell – Crocus
- Werner Coetser – Dorry
- Brendan Murray – Brogy
- Callum Kerr – Smoker
- Rob Colletti – Wapol
- Julia Rehwald – Tashigi
- Ty Keogh – Dalton
One Piece season 2 story: what chapters are being adapted?
One Piece season 1 adapted chapters 1-95 of Oda’s long-running manga, leading us to the very end of the Arlong Park arc.
The 100 chapters = one season seems to be as good of a guideline as any to use right now, and points us to where the show could go next in One Piece season 2.
If things continue at a similar pace, the second season could adapt the Loguetown arc (chapters 96-100), Reverse Mountain arc (chapters 101-104), Whisky Peak (chapters 106-114), and Little Garden (chapters 115-129) within the first two or three episodes.
Those arcs – minor spoilers here, but we’ll keep things vague – see Luffy and the Straw Hats face off against Smoker, meet the whale Laboon, head to new locations, encounter fresh allies, and confront the officers of Baroque Works.
The rest of the season will likely adapt the Drum Island arc (chapters 130-154), which sees one of the crew fall ill. It also introduces the aforementioned Dr. Kureha. Finally, things will be rounded off – with the bulk of the season, we expect – with the epic Arabasta arc (chapters 155-217). Let’s hope Netflix expands the season count to 10 episodes so they can fit everything in – especially as events in the Kingdom of Arabasta deserve, arguably, at least five episodes to account for its new characters and climactic events.
When can we expect a One Piece season 2 trailer?
Not anytime soon, that’s for sure. The first trailer for its debut season arrived roughly two months before it docked on Netflix. With that in mind, we’ll have a better idea once cameras start rolling again. Again, expect 2025 to be the most likely answer for this.
How many seasons of One Piece will there be?
Right now, only two pieces of One Piece have been officially confirmed. There have been talks of mapping out story plans for six seasons, while the producers are eyeing up to 12 seasons to adapt the bulk of the source material.
"We’re over 1,080 chapters at this point in the manga. We have plans with [co-showrunner] Matt Owens for how we would break multiple seasons, and I think even if we did six seasons, we would probably only use up half of the chapters of the manga. It really could go on and on and on," producer Becky Clements told Deadline.
She added: "We've definitely had more thorough conversations about what we would do with Season 2 should we have the opportunity, and then less extensive conversations about where we would go for season three to six."
Fellow producer Marty Adelstein said, "We have hopes for 12 seasons, there's so much material."
While we don't have 12 seasons confirmed, it's looking like season 3 may have already been quietly greenlit.
"Hopefully there's a flashback scene with Patty. We'll see if they flashback to it, because they're filming two seasons – season two and three – back to back starting soon," Patty actor Brashaad Mayweather revealed in an interview with Bruce Crossey (H/T ComicBook.com). "So, we'll see what happens."
For more on One Piece, here’s what you should read next after watching the Netflix series. Then, read our interview with co-showrunner Steven Maeda on the cliffhanger ending. If you need to fill out your watchlist, here are the best Netflix shows and best Netflix movies you should be watching right now.
