Netflix’s Live-Action One Piece Reveals Casting For Six More East Blue Characters Including Mihawk and Race-Swapped Nojiko
Spencer Baculi
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Netflix has announced further casting details for its live-action One Piece series, unveiling the actors who will portray six more major East Blue saga characters, including the Shichibukai Dracule Mihawk and a race-swapped version of Nojiko.
Source: One Piece Episode 7 “Epic Showdown! Swordsman Zoro vs. Acrobat Cabaji!” (1999), Toei Animation
RELATED: Netflix Announces First Casting Details For Live-Action One Piece Series
This latest update on the live-action adaptation of Oda Eiichiro’s legendary manga came on June 6th as part of Netflix’s Geeked Week, a week-long event featuring numerous announcements, trailer drops, and previews related to the streaming platform’s upcoming offerings.
Sharing an image featuring the headshots of the six new cast members, Netflix Geeked declared, “Meet the newest cast members joining ONE PIECE”.
Archive Link Source: Netflix Geeked Twitter
According to the image, these new cast members will include Alexander Maniatis (Adrian, Arendsvlei) as Klahadore, real name Kuro, a former pirate-captain-turned-butler encountered by the Straw Hats who seeks to kill his sickly charge in order to inherit her fortune:
Source: One Piece Episode 12 “Clash with the Black Cat Pirates! The Great Battle on the Slope!” (2000), Toei Animation
Steven Ward (Chaz, Vagrant Queen) as Dracule Mihawk, the cross-sword wielding Shichibukai whose pure might being inspires Zoro to aim for even greater heights as a swordsman:
Source: One Piece Episode 24 “Hawk-Eye Mihawk! The Great Swordsman Zoro Falls At Sea!” (2000), Toei Animation
Craig Fairbrass (Dan Sullivan, EastEnders) as Chef Zeff, the restaurateur who served as Sanji’s adoptive father and taught him everything he knows about the culinary arts:
Source: One Piece Episode 25 “The Deadly Foot Technique Bursts Forth! Sanji vs. the Invincible Pearl” (2000), Toei Animation
Langley Kirkwood (Walter Buckley, Warrior) as Axe-Hand Morgan, the tyrannical Marine captain father of Helmeppo and the first villain encountered by Luffy and Zoro upon their initial teaming-up:
Source: One Piece Episode 2 “Enter the Great Swordsman! Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro!” (2000), Toei Animation
RELATED: One Piece Film: Red Gets New Teaser Introducing Original Character Uta
Newcomer Celeste Loots as Kaya, Usopp’s number one fan and the aforementioned master of Klahadore who hopes to one day overcome her illness and become a doctor:
Source: One Piece Episode 11 “Expose the Plot! Pirate Butler, Captain Kuro!!” (2000), Toei Animation
And Chioma Umeala (Ayo Makinde, Isono) as Nojiko, Nami’s protective older sister:
Source: One Piece Episode 31 “The Worst Man in the Eastern Seas! Fishman Pirate Arlong!” (2000), Toei Animation
Netflix also shared a behind-the-scenes look at three of the series’ ships, the Straw Hats’ Going Merry, the Alvida Pirates’ Miss Love Duck, and Chef Zeff’s Baratie restaurant, as hosted by Monkey D. Luffy actor Inaki Godoy alongside showrunners Steve Maeda and Matt Owens.
✔️ The Going Merry
✔️ Miss Love Duck
✔️ BaratieTake a tour inside the massive sets of ONE PIECE, now in production #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/104rCQmXsj
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
Further, this casting announcement also came with a massive update to the series’ IMDB page, wherein it was revealed that in addition to Oda himself, the live-action One Piece would be executive produced by Becky Clements and Marty Adelstein, both of whom served as producers – the former for the entire series and the latter for the episode ‘Cowboy Gospel’ for Netflix’s previous Cowboy Bebop adaptation.
Source: COWBOY BEBOP (L to R) JOHN CHO as SPIKE SPIEGEL and DANIELLA PINEDA as FAYE VALENTINE of COWBOY BEBOP Cr. GEOFFREY SHORT/NETFLIX © 2021
It should be noted that the apparent race-swapping of Nojiko was done under supervision of Oda himself, as alongside the previous announcement of the show’s main cast, the mangaka assured fans that he was ” working with NETFLIX and Tomorrow Studios on the massive project that is the Hollywood live action series adaptation of ONE PIECE!””
“How many years has it been since it was announced, right?” joked Oda. “I know, I know! But rest assured we’ve been making steady progress all along! It’s not easy when you’re working with people from different cultures!”
He continued, “But it’s precisely that process that can yield something special! For now, we’re able to announce the main cast! Rather, we need to hurry and announce it or else it’ll be leaked, apparently! Hilarious, lol.”
Source: One Piece Netflix Twitter
Turning to the Straw Hats themselves, Oda gushed on each how actor embodied their character’s “face, the size of their mouths and hands, their aura, the way they carry themselves, their voice, their acting skills, their height, the balance amongst the Straw Hat Crew, etc…!”
“We decided on this cast after numerous discussions involving people around the world!”, added Oda. “These are the people who will be our Straw Hat Pirates! It’ll take a bit more time to get this show done, but we’ll continue to do our best to deliver a show that we’re confident will be enjoyed by everyone around the world! Look forward to more updates in the future!”
Source: One Piece Chapter 52 “The Oath” (1998), Shueisha. Color spread by Eiichiro Oda.
What do you make of these latest live-action One Piece casting announcements? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!
NEXT: Netflix’s Live-Action One Piece Series Reveals Casting For Six Major East Blue Saga Roles
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