Netflix set the bar for live-action adaptations, and with One Piece, the streaming giant managed to raise the bar even higher. The show has been winning acclaim from all quarters, mainly due to its storytelling, and how faithful it has been to the manga.
Given the success of the first season, Netflix immediately greenlit a second season. With the show set to return soon, the platform has made one addition that could change the game. Joe Tracz is set to join the series as a co-showrunner.
Netflix adds Joe Tracz as the new co-showrunner for the second season of One Piece
One Piece is adapted from Eiichiro Oda’s manga of the same name. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda developed the live-action for the streaming platform, and it was a massive success. And now, with the stakes being much higher, Joe Tracz will be lending his able hands to take it even further.
The plot follows the Straw Hat Pirates. The group is on the hunt for the hallowed treasure that will see their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, become the king of all pirates. Iñaki Godoy plays the protagonist, who put his best foot forward.
Tracz has found a lot of success in his career as a writer. It is not surprising that his efforts have been acknowledged in the best way possible. During his interview with Deadline, the writer expressed his excitement to be able to work on Eiichiro’s manga.
“I’ve been lucky to work on big adaptations of several beloved series, and they don’t come bigger or more beloved than One Piece. I’m a huge fan of Oda-san’s incredible imagination and I was blown away by what the live-action team created in Season One. So it’s a dream and a joy to come aboard the Going Merry as it enters the Grand Line for an even more giant Season Two,” he said.
Maeda will no longer be the co-showrunner, and Tracz will fill in his shoes. However, Steven Maeda will still be attached to the project as an executive producer.
The show came out in August last year, and it made its way to the top spot. As reported by Deadline, it spent a total of eight weeks in the global top 10 ranking. It currently boasts an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Tracz is a wonderful addition, and he proved his quality on the Disney+ show Percy Jackson and the Olympians recently.
Joe Tracz brought The Lightening Thief to life for Disney+
The world of Percy Jackson is a very rich one and beloved by readers around the globe, including Tracz himself. He has been a part of this world since he worked on the Broadway musical as well.
The writer is not new to adapting books, and he does it while staying true to the story. He previously worked with Netflix on Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. In an interview with Paste Magazine, he opened up about his experience of working on the show.
“Jon and Rick wrote the first two episodes, and that first one actually was written before the writers room was assembled. So we were able to enter the room and look at that first episode as our template for our TV adaptation. The journey itself is so episodic and the breakdown of plot came pretty naturally. I think what the room was really looking to do is [figure out] how to make those things feel like a unit of emotion as well, so that each episode doesn’t just feel like you’re checking off a box for a chapter in the book, but also giving a unique emotional journey that develops a different part of Percy and his world,” he said.
Tracz is no longer a part of the Disney show, but these are exciting times for him. One Piece has a release window, and it is aiming for 2025. As of now, the show can be streamed on Netflix.
