When the trailer of Netflix’s One Piece was released in June 2023, Collider interviewed the cast of the live-action adaptation, where they were asked how long they wanted this series to be. Sanji’s actor, Taz Skylar, voiced his opinion and said he doesn’t want the show to run either too long or too short. Iñaki Godoy and Mackenyu agreed with their co-star on this topic.
Eiichiro Oda’s most successful work, One Piece, finally got a live-action adaptation, and Netflix stood up to the fans’ expectations. With this series, Hollywood overcame their curse of messing up anime live-actions. Staying on the list of top 10 shows for weeks on the platform, it wasn’t surprising that the Straw Hats got another season packed with adventures coming along soon.
What did Sanji’s actor, Taz Skylar, share regarding the length of One Piece’s live-action?
In an interview with Collider before the release of the live-action adaptation, Taz Skylar, who portrays the Straw Hats’ chef Sanji, shared his opinions about the length of the upcoming series,
“I’d like it to go for exactly as long as it takes to feel like it’s come to an ending that all of us are happy—and by us, I mean the greater “us” of us five and every single person involved. I want everybody to be proud of where we end up ending. I don’t want it to end short, and I don’t want it to run long. That’s my ideal.”
He works his opinion wonderfully, considering not only his co-stars but everybody who worked with him to produce this masterpiece agreed. After he was done, Luffy’s actor, Iñaki Godoy, and Zoro’s actor, Mackenyu, agreed with his opinion. Even though he mentioned that he would prefer for this series not to run forever since One Piece, in general, is a vast series, and to make a live-action that long requires a mammoth budget.
His opinion might upset some fans expecting to see more of this series. Rather than focusing on the distant future of the series, we have an upcoming season 2 to enjoy. It would be intriguing to join the Straw Hats in their future endeavors and adventures.
What challenges did the cast of Netflix’s One Piece face while creating the live-action series?
One Piece‘s showrunner, Steven Maeda, was asked about the challenges he faced while making the series in an interview with Games Radar. He shares,
“I think for me, the biggest challenge was finding the balance in the show. And what I mean by that is, the fan base is so hardcore, they are so devoted, and so dedicated to this show. So, wanting to serve that fan base and have the show feel like, “Yes, this is One Piece!” Huge challenge just in and of itself.”
He also explains further how it was a struggle to make the series accessible for even new fans. He was rather persistent that One Piece’s live-action was only good for the fans who already acknowledged the manga or anime. He wanted new viewers to watch the trailer and go, “Oh, I’m in, I got to continue watching this.” He wanted to keep the series loyal to the source material.
