One Piece season 2: what we know about the hit Netflix show's return

One Piece season 2 is on the way – and, for anyone who's kept up with the live-action Netflix series' success, that won't be a surprise.

There’s always great pressure when a classic cultural icon is translated onto the screen, and a lot was riding on the streamer's adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s best selling manga of the same name. Thankfully, it was a resounding hit, with old fans and newbies alike tuning into the world's best streaming service to get their devil fruit fill. Based on its critical acclaim, too, it was only a matter of time before it found a spot on our best Netflix shows list.

Given its *ahem* dominance of the high streaming seas, One Piece's second season was greenlit almost instantaneously. So, while we wait for more on when we'll see Luffy and his Straw Hats pirate crew again, here’s everything we know so far about One Piece season 2, including speculation on its release date, likely cast, story rumors, and more.

One Piece season 2 release date: what we know so far

It doesn't have a launch date yet, but Netflix announced One Piece season 2 in mid-September, which brought two weeks of speculation to an end about the show's potential renewal. 

One week earlier on September 8, Marty Adelstein, one of its producers, suggested One Piece season 2 was ready to go, but two big Netflix hurdles blocked its path. Thankfully, those issues didn't prove to be detrimental to its second season's cause.

Considering One Piece season 1 was king of the TV show high seas in early September – it was the most-watched show in 84 countries during its opening weekend – Netflix was quick off the mark to commission a second season. 

So, when will season 2 set sail for our screens? Speaking to Variety, Adelstein claimed the scripts were ready, but Oda later confirmed they weren't complete (see the season 2 announcement in the X post above). Randy Troy, one of season 2's writers, reaffirmed Oda's stance in early October, revealing work was ongoing on the next installment's scripts.

In the same Variety article linked above, fellow producer Becky Clements also teased an 18-month wait for its release. A year and a half after September 2023 would see One Piece season 2 dock at Netflix's port in March 2025, then. In short: get ready for a lengthy wait.

One Piece season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored

Full spoilers follow for One Piece season 1.

It’s fair to assume we’ll see all of the Straw Hats Crew back for One Piece season 2:

• Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy 
• Emily Rudd as Nami 
• Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro 
• Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp 
• Taz Skylar as Sanji 

Monkey D. Garp (Vincent Regan), who was revealed to be Luffy’s grandad and who had been testing Luffy to see if he was dedicated to his dream, is likely to return as well, as are Buggy the clown (Jeff Ward), who vowed to kill Luffy, and rival Captain Alvida (Isorelýs Paulino).

In a plot twist, Jamie Lee Curtis – a massive fan of One Piece – took to Instagram to throw her hat in the ring to play the part of Doctor Kureha, who joins the pirate gang as their official medic (a necessity, given the wild amount of violent skirmishes they find themselves in).

Responding to Curtis' post, showrunner Matthew Owens wrote: "Hope to speak to you soon" before later telling Deadline: "At this point we’re writing for her –we really, really want her to come and play with us". The season 2 announcement video appeared to tease this potential star casting, too, with Oda adding: "From here on, it seems to me that the Straw Hats will need a great doctor…we will see."

As well as Doctor Kureha, we can expect other new characters, including fan-favorite talking reindeer Chopper, as well as human characters like Nico Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbe, and Nefertari Vivi. Lastly, in terms of new antagonists, Smoker was teased at the end of season 1 – he was seen burning his two cigars into Luffy’s 'most wanted' poster – so it’s safe to assume he’ll play a part next time out, too.

One Piece season 2 story speculation

Major spoilers follow for One Piece season 1, as well as potential spoilers for season 2.

Season 1 wrapped up with the stretchy-limbed Luffy turning his back on the marines before having an almighty face-off with Arlong (freeing Nami's people in the process) and his grandfather. However, when Garp relents and reveals he had been testing Luffy this whole time, it seems all is well in Straw Hat land. With Nami officially joining the Straw Hats crew, the group bands together to head to The Grand Line to find the titular One Piece, which Luffy hopes will fulfil his dream of becoming King of the Pirates. 

As it happens, all isn't well. Following his humiliation at Luffy's hands, Captain Nezumi placed a bounty of 30 million berries on our protagonist's head, and several of the nightmarish characters who seem intent on capturing him – dead or alive – aren't going to turn down a prize of that magnitude. Expect this manhunt to be a main story thread in One Piece season 2.

Considering season 1 covered around 90 chapters in Oda's sweeping (and seemingly never-ending) manga series, there’s likely to be a similar breadth in the follow up. This means we could see the crew land on an island of giants, as well as the fight against a gang of bounty hunters who want to dominate the nation of Alabasta. The arrival of Smoker, too, means we can expect The Loguetown story to factor into season 2's overarching narrative,, with him also popping up in the Little Garden and Alabasta arcs, too.

One Piece season 2 trailer: is there one?

 There’s no One Piece season 2 trailer yet. As soon as that changes, we’ll let you know. 

The future of One Piece on Netflix

Let's start with the obvious: given the level of success its predecessor enjoy, it's highly unlikely One Piece season 2 will be the end of the line for the live-action adaptation. Indeed, with 1000-plus chapters (and counting) in Oda's legendary manga series, there's plenty more source material to mine.

The good news is we could see One Piece stretch out for over a decade. Speaking to Deadline, Adelstein and Clements revealed their hopes for the future, with Adelstein saying: "We have hopes for 12 seasons, there’s so much material."

Clements added: "We’re over 1,080 chapters at this point in the manga. We have plans with Matt Owens for how we would break multiple seasons, and I think even if we did six seasons, we would probably only use up half of the chapters of the manga. It really could go on and on and on". To which we say: hurrah! 

For more Netflix TV-based coverage, read up on everything worth knowing about Stranger Things season 5, Arcane season 2, and Squid Game season 2. Or, if you're searching for shows of a similar ilk to One Piece, watch one or more of these five great pirate-based shows.