One Piece season 2 potential release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know

One Piece star Mackenyu has given an update on season two, promising fans: "It's gonna be awesome".

The actor, who plays Roronoa Zoro, shared these sentiments on Instagram in a post where he was pictured with lead actor Iñaki Godoy (Luffy) and Taz Skylar (Sanji) – presumably fresh off set – smiling and pouting.

That's all fans will be getting for now. While the One Piece cast are great at teasing little tidbits regarding the general direction of season two, all the nitty, gritty specifics remain under lock and key.

However, we do know that, with filming for season two well under way, the show is on track for its 2025 release window. What's more, the set just got a whole lot busier with new cast members filling out the next season's line-up.

Along with Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran, who was announced in August to be playing Miss Vivi Wednesday, One Piece season two welcomes Joe Manganiello and Lera Abova as the Baroque Works' infamous Mr O and Miss All-Sunday.

The news was announced during Netflix's Geeked Week, and the two have been cast alongside another newbie, Katey Sagal.

In July, it was reported that Jamie Lee Curtis was no longer teed up for the role of Doctor Kureha due to scheduling conflicts. We learned that Futurama's Sagal will be donning Kureha's signature crop top and purple trousers instead.

While the Curtis news was a blow, we couldn't be more excited to see how Sagal and the rest of the newcomers fold into the action-packed world. Sadly, fans will have to temper that excitement – there's still a while to wait after all.

So, what details do we have about One Piece season two? Here's everything you need to know.

As mentioned above, One Piece season two won't be hitting the streaming service until 2025.

The news came via Deadline, which reported that One Piece, along with several other highly anticipated shows, would not be returning in 2024.

However, we can confirm that the second season is officially in production. The news was announced in early July 2024 on the show's official Netflix Instagram account.

In a sweet video, Godoy asked digital assistant Siri for directions to South Africa, to which 'Siri' replied: "Getting directions to The Grand Line."

The cast reunited on their ship the Going Merry, with Jacob Gibson (Usopp) confirming that they were "heading back to Cape Town to film season two".

The heartfelt video was captioned: "It's happening, Nakama! From around the world, our Straw Hats have reunited to begin filming their epic Season 2 adventure!

"There's no better place to start this journey than the deck of the Going Merry with @inakigo @mackenyu @emilysteaparty @bookofjacob and @taz_skylar!"

The video was followed by a second post a day later showing a picture of the script, bearing the caption: "The dreams on these pages are about to become a reality. We're gearing up for a grand adventure, Straw Hats! #OnePieceLiveAction."

One Piece season one began filming in January 2022 and finished in August that same year. Post-production work meant that it wasn't until August 2023 that the show debuted.

While we're not expecting that the post-production process will be as lengthy as the show's first outing, it's hard to overestimate how much work goes into the visual world-building.

With that in mind, fans could be looking at a late 2025 release, possibly in time for the festive break.

One Piece season two is adding a slew of new faces to its bumper-pack cast, starting with Joe Manganiello, Lera Abova and Bridgerton star Charithra Chandran.

As was announced in September 2024 during Netflix's Geeked Week, Manganiell0 and Abova have been cast as the dangerous Mr O and Miss All-Sunday.

Their announcements at the event were followed up with Instagram posts welcoming them to the series, "promising untold secrets" for Miss All-Sunday while Manganiell0 will be "getting down to business".

Trouble will certainly be on the horizon when the two pair up as the One Piece official Instagram page states: "With power cloaked in mystery and intentions hidden behind ominous smiles, these two will stop at nothing."

Their excitement over joining the One Piece family was abundantly clear, as was Chandran's when she took to Instagram on August 23 to announce the news in a collaborative post with the official One Piece account.

"Hey guys, I am so excited to be joining the cast of One Piece and I feel incredibly grateful to [creator Eiichiro] Oda Sensei for trusting me with the role of Vivi," she said.

"I know how much she means to all of you and I am going to work my hardest to do her justice and make you all proud."

As mentioned above, Katey Sagal has been cast as Doctor Kureha in place of One Piece superfan Jamie Lee Curtis.

Sadly the booked-and-busy Curtis had to turn down the part because of scheduling conflicts.

Becky Clements, the president of Tomorrow Studios (co-producers of Netflix's One Piece), shared the news during an interview with Deadline.

"She loves the show," Clements said, referring to Curtis, "[but] she has too many films and TV shows that she's going into production on, so our production dates aren't going to work.

"She definitely wanted to do it, but she's got deals in first position, and it just became complicated."

Curtis' commitments included the long-awaited Freaky Friday sequel Freakier Friday.

However, Clements assured fans that they had "found an amazing person" to step into the role of Doctor Kureha for season two, and they weren't kidding.

Sagal has proved her comedic talents in Married with Children and 8 Simple Rules (in which she starred alongside Kaley Cuoco), and we're excited to see how these will be transformed for a world as wonderfully weird and wacky as One Piece.

Away from the Doctor Kureha news, we can confidently say that The Straw Hat Pirates will be back, so that means the return of the following:

• Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D Luffy
• Emily Rudd as Nami
• Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro
• Jacob Romero as Usopp
• Taz Skylar as Sanji

New Straw Hat recruit Chopper has also been confirmed by Owens for season two, though the role has yet to be cast.

Luffy's team aside, who would the King of the Pirates be without a few enemies? And as such, David Dastmalchian has been cast as the famed Mr 3.

Mr 3 (aka Galdino) is a former officer agent of the criminal organisation Baroque Works –who, like Luffy, also possesses Devil Fruit Powers but of the self-duplicating kind.

Dastmalchian will also be joined by other newcomers, including the following:

• Callum Kerr as Smoker
• Sendhil Ramamurthy (Never Have I Ever) as Nefertari Cobra
• Mark Harelik (Presumed Innocent) as Dr. Hiriluk
• Ty Keogh as Dalton
• Clive Russell (Game of Thrones) as Crocus
• Daniel Lasker as Mr. 9
• Jazzara Jaslyn as Miss Valentine
• Werner Coetser as Dorry
• Brendan Murray as Brogy
• Camrus Johnson (Batwoman) as Mr. 5
• Rob Colletti as Wapol
• Julia Rehwald (Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures) as Tashigi

While new enemies are sure to creep out of the fold in season two, fans would be remiss to forget about old. Let's face it, following their first-season adventures, Luffy and his crew have racked up quite a few.

They may have defeated those foes, but there's nothing to say they couldn't crop up again in season two with a taste for revenge.

Jeff Ward's Buggy, for one, has already been confirmed for season two, so we shall expect more crazed-clown behaviour.

We could see the Straw Hats going toe-to-toe with the likes of:

• Captain Alvida (played by Ilia Isorelýs Paulino)
• Klahadore/Kuro (played by Alexander Maniatis)

Arlong (McKinley Belcher III) is less likely to be making a comeback, though we do know he survived his defeat at the hands of the Straw Hats.

During an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, the fish-man actor shared that he was keen to re-join the show, stating: "I am in contact with the showrunner and assuming the show has a life; hopefully, I will have a life with it."

However, we wouldn't expect to see Arlong in the next season, given that the show has shifted focus with the hint that season two will follow Mr 3's story.

With all new faces and stories to contend with, it's unlikely that McKinley will be back anytime soon to deliver his alluring portrayal of Arlong.

The Marines, however, will naturally continue to be a thorn in Luffy's side, such as Vincent Regan's Grandpa Garp – sorry, we mean Vice Admiral Garp. He will have to return, along with Morgan Davies' Koby and Aidan Scott as Helmeppo.

We would assume the second season of One Piece would consist of at least eight episodes like the first season.

The first season of the live-action series barely scratched the surface of the first season of the anime show, which had a whopping 61 episodes.

Netflix could make up for that with the second season rounding it out to an even 10 following the success of the first. There's certainly enough material to do so.

One Piece showrunner Owens has confirmed that the season two action will take place at the Grand Line (via Tudum).

Given the presence of Mr 3, One Piece will likely follow the Arabasta arc in season two.

Mr 3 also has Devil Fruit Powers but unlike Luffy's Gum-Gum stretchiness, 3's consumption of the Wax Wax Fruit means he can create and control candle wax, as well as duplicate himself in wax form.

The Arabasta arc focuses on the Baroque Works criminal network, which is why we're seeing an uptick of Baroque villains named after numbers, including Mr 5 and 9, and their female counterparts named after weekdays and holidays, such as Miss Valentine and Miss Wednesday.

Baroque Works was mentioned in season one of One Piece when Zoro killed Mr 7, after 7 tried to recruit him on behalf of the Baroque Works.

The Arabasta Arc is the eleventh story of the manga and anime arc, which means that Netflix is not sticking to a linear storytelling structure.

Aside from that, it's onwards and forwards. With 1,000-plus episodes underneath its belt, the One Piece anime collection is bubbling with storylines for the live-action show to draw from.

Throughout the animation, Luffy's crew grew to include Tony Tony Chopper (confirmed) Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbe and Nefertari Vivi, which could mean new faces will join the adventure in season two.

However, former enemies are sure to make their presence felt much more strongly the second time around.

In the season one finale, Luffy made the "most wanted" posters, boasting an impressive 30,000,000 Berries bounty for his capture. Naturally Buggy – boiling with jealousy – vowed to kill Luffy, which piqued the interest of Captain Avida, who was in earshot of his murderous declaration.

Related: How One Piece's season 1 finale sets up season 2

It's possible a team-up could be on the cards. Then again, these two don't strike us as the "working together" types, so who knows?

The biggest story to kick off One Piece season two will probably be centred around newcomer Smoker.

Though we only saw the back of his profile in the season one cliffhanger, we're almost certain he was the individual burning a hole into Luffy's most wanted poster with his cigar. His white hair and signature two cigars in one hand are the clues on which we base our findings.

If this is the case, Luffy will face some problems, as the Marine vice admiral has made it his mission to capture him. And to that, we say, good luck!

Teasing how important this character will be in season two, showrunner Matt Owens told Deadline that, along with Sagal's Dr. Kureha who is set to be a big part of the season, "[Smoker] is a very important character moving into our next season".

He went on to say: "While Garp may have been the Marine who was testing Luffy, not every Marine is going to give him any leeway because of who his grandfather might be.

"And so we're going to see this very powerful, very driven marine as a major antagonist moving forward in the story."

Owens added: "I love a tag that can give you a nice tease for people who might be new to adaptation, and for fans, for people who know, it’s like a rabid excitement.

"They know who that is, they know what that means, they are excited to see him and to start to question how we're going to play this character and how we're going to unfold his role moving forward."

Filming for the second season may be in full swing, but the production team is still holding on to sneak-peek footage tighter than a Straw Hat would to the map of the Grand Line.

Needless to say, we'll keep you in the loop the minute there are first-look images or a trailer drops. But if you just need some extra One Piece content, we've got just the thing for you...

No doubt the One Piece live-action series has you as eager as Luffy at a buffet for more. However, since season two is a long way away, you might be wondering if it's time to turn your attention to the anime.

Its collection of over 1,000 episodes would definitely fill up the time during the show's hiatus period.

If you're sold on giving the anime a go, all episodes are available to watch right now on Crunchyroll. The streaming service can be accessed through the likes of Google TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV stick and Android TV devices.

A basic Crunchyroll membership is free, giving you limited access to their library of shows, including One Piece (usually only subtitled versions) with adverts.

There are also two premium tiers available, with the 'Fan' tier (£4.99 a month) letting you watch new shows without adverts only an hour after they air in Japan. The 'Mega Fan' tier (£5.99 a month) allows you to download shows to watch offline.

Both premium tiers come with a 14-day free trial, and subscribers can save 16% by paying upfront for a 12-month subscription to Crunchyroll for £59.99.

One Piece season one is available to watch on Netflix.

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Janet A Leigh

TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since.  For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing.  She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.