One Piece Creators on Netflix Plan Up to 10 Seasons

With the overwhelming success that the One Piecelive-action continues to achieve on Netflix, the hype to set sail for the third season is through the roof. Following the incredible reception of the second installment, the production's top brass, including Tomorrow Studios president Becky Clements and showrunners Joe Tracz and Ian Stokes, decided to break their silence to talk about the future of our favorite pirates and reveal a couple of secrets that will put the fandom at ease.

Eiichiro Oda's word is the absolute law

Something they made crystal clear is that this series is a direct and purist adaptation of the manga, not the anime. For them, the printed work is the Bible they must follow to the letter to avoid losing the magic and purity along the way. And they are not alone in this titanic task, as Eiichiro Oda continues to have an almost unreal level of control and supervision over the project. The legendary author reviews everything from scripts to casting and conceptual art. The producers confessed that sometimes Oda himself jumps directly into the screenwriting software to leave them notes, and even when they disagree at first, they end up agreeing with him because his instinct for choosing emotional impact over visual realism is always right.

The long-awaited debut of Karoo and the ten-season goal

But let's get to what was truly keeping us awake at night: where on earth is our favorite giant duck? The creators explained that they decided to cut Karoo from the second season because, frankly, he ruined the credibility of Princess Vivi's undercover mission within the Baroque Works organization. However, they solemnly promised that the loyal companion will make his grand and triumphant debut in Season 3, which will cover the explosive Alabasta arc and is currently already in full production. This decision to move characters forward or hold them back also explains why we saw early cameos of figures like Sabo, Brook, and Bartolomeo, using them to plant narrative seeds for the future much more naturally.

And speaking of the future, it seems we'll have a crew for a long time. While some executives joke about milking the story for up to fifteen seasons, the realistic consensus reached with Oda is to plan a solid route of between eight and ten seasons. The goal is to build this world correctly without dragging the project out for twenty years in real life. Knowing that the commitment to the original story is total, do you think the budget will be enough to give Karoo the incredible CGI design he deserves in the sands of Alabasta?