Netflix’s live-action One Piece series will return to Netflix for Season 2 in March, bringing back Luffy D. Monkey and his crew of Straw Hat pirates. The new season will also introduce a whole new wave of eccentric villains for Luffy and the gang to navigate their way through and around on their way to securing the One Piece. For co-showrunner Joe Tracz, getting into Season 2 was all about celebrating the bad guys. One Piece’s first season had the enviable task of bringing together a live-action iteration of a manga animation, which is no mean feat by any stretch of the imagination. Somehow, the series captured the essence and bizarre nature of the original series, thrilling both the existing fandom and newcomers to the franchise alike. Season 2 will take a step-up in establishing an even more stylistic and unique collection of villains including Mr. 9 (Daniel Lasker), Mr. 5 (Camrus Johnson), Miss Valentine (Jazzara Jaslyn), and Mr. 3 (David Dastmalchian), all members of the criminal syndicate known as Baroque Works. In an interview with SFX Magazine, Tracz shared his belief that a series like One Piece is all about the villains, and Season 2’s Tarantino-like assassins were a lot of fun to get into.
“I think you’re only as good as your villain, so Baroque Works is the thing I was most excited about this season because they’re like Tarantino-style Kill Bill assassins with crazy superpowers. They don’t just do bad; they look good. Their style is so much a part of it, and it was so fun to get to establish them.”
Tracz continued to highlight the big difference between Baroque Works and the Straw Hats in how the two different groups work to get what they want.
“What we really loved about them is the way they function as a dark mirror of our heroes. We’ve seen the Straw Hats come together, and they’re all supporting each other’s dreams. But now you have this group of agents who, to get ahead in Baroque Works, someone in front of you has to die, and that’s how you get promoted. We have a lot of fun with the idea that our Straw Hats are trying to work together, and you have these villains who are quick to turn on each other and sometimes work at cross purposes. It’s fun to watch, but it also reflects on what makes the Straw Hats special.”

‘One Piece’ Season 2 Has a Huge New Cast

Many shows establish a large cast in their first season, with a handful of new additions for each subsequent season that is commissioned. One Piece Season 2 is adding more than 30 new actors to its upcoming season in a monumental expansion of the franchise. Highlights among the huge list of newcomers include the arrival of reindeer-human-hybrid Tony Tony Chopper, voiced by Mikaela Hoover, Lera Abova as Ms. All Sunday, aka Nico Robin, Joe Manganiello as leader of Baroque Works, Mr. O, aka Crocodile, David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3, Game of Thrones’ Clive Russell as Crocus, Brendan Murray as Brogy, Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha – a role many believed was destined for Jamie Lee Curtis – Rob van Vuuren as King Seki, and Superman’s James Hiroyuki Liao as Ipponmatsu.

While there seems an overwhelming number of new characters to be introduced across the season, several of the new characters come as part of gangs and groups, making it less imposing for those still getting used to the wild roster of pirates, salesmen, assassins, politicians and more. However, once you throw caution to the wind and simply embrace the series and all the crazy wonders it delivers, your quest for the One Piece can really begin. The show returns to Netflix on Mar. 10, 2026.

Release Date

August 31, 2023

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Matt Owens, Steven Maeda, Joe Tracz

Directors

Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka

Writers

Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand

Iñaki Godoy

Monkey D. Luffy