'One Piece' season 2: Everything we know so far

• Netflix's live-action "One Piece" is coming back for a second season.
• Netflix announced in July that the season had gone into production in South Africa. 
• Manga author Eiichiro Oda revealed the plot scope of season two in a letter to fans in August. 

Netflix's "One Piece" will be back for season two — and now, we know a little bit more about what portion of the long-running manga it will cover.

The live-action series, based on Eiichiro Oda's anime and manga of the same name, follows a friendly pirate called Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) on his adventure to find the legendary One Piece, a treasure hidden by the former Pirate King. To do so, he needs to assemble a crew and make for the Grand Line, a dangerous stretch of ocean filled with promise and adventure. 

In season one, Luffy picks up four key crewmates: sword-wielding pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu Arata), pirate thief and navigator Nami (Emily Rudd), kickboxing chef Sanji (Taz Skylar) and compulsive liar and sharpshooter Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson). The adaptation was a success, and the streamer first announced its renewal just two weeks after season one's release on August 31, 2023.

Season two will bring new friends, enemies, and adventure — here's everything we know so far. 

When will 'One Piece' season 2 be released?

"One Piece" manga author Eiichiro Oda confirmed that the live-action "One Piece" had been renewed for season two in a video released by Netflix on September 14, 2023. Oda didn't address the season two release date in his video, only noting that it will "still take a while to get the scripts ready" and asking fans to be patient while they wait.

However, Marty Adelstein — the CEO of Tomorrow Studios, which produces the live-action show — told Variety earlier that month that scripts had been written for season two.

Season one was first announced in July 2017, but did not premiere until August 31, 2023. However, season two likely won't take quite as long, since production on the first season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tomorrow Studios president Becky Clements told Variety in the same September 2023 report that season two could be released as early as next year, once the strike ends.

"Realistically, hopefully, a year away, if we move very quickly, and that is a possibility," Clements said. "Somewhere between a year and 18 months, we could be ready for air."

Netflix announced on July 1, 2024 that "One Piece" season two had entered production in South Africa. Given the timeline, it seems most likely that the new season will be released sometime in 2025 rather than 2024, as Clements had previously projected.

Which 'One Piece' cast members will return for season 2?

All of the Straw Hat actors — Godoy, Arata, Rudd, Gibson, and Skylar — are returning for season two. Others like Alvida (Ilia Paulino) and Buggy the Pirate (Jeff Ward) are likely additions as well, given that their characters appear in the upcoming arcs in the manga.

It is unclear whether Garp (Vincent Regan), Koby (Morgan Davies), Helmeppo (Aidan Scott), and Bogard (Armand Aucamp) will return since they weren't in the next part of the anime. However, the live-action series has already made many significant changes to include those characters earlier in the story than in the anime, which means they may bring them back in season two.

It is also unclear whether Shanks (Peter Gadiot) and his crew will return in season two.

Netflix has slowly made casting announcements for season two. That includes key characters like the marines Smoker and Tashigi (played by Callum Kerr and Julia Rehwald), giants Dorry and Broggy (Werner Coetser and Brendan Murray), and Wapol and Dalton (Rob Colletti and Ty Keogh). The series has also cast a number of Baroque Works agents, including David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3. 

There are still a few key cast members who have yet to be announced, including Miss All Sunday (a character that "One Piece" fans better know as Robin) and Vivi, an undercover princess. But the biggest question mark is one of Luffy's new crewmates, a fan-favorite character named Chopper.

"From here on, it seems to me the Straw Hats will need a great doctor... We will see!" Oda teased in the season two announcement video before it cut to footage of him drawing the iconic crew member. 

Tony Tony Chopper is a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Devil Fruit, giving him sentience and the power to transform into various human-reindeer hybrid forms. He eventually joins the Straw Hats as the crew's much-needed doctor. 

Given that he isn't fully human, it's natural that depicting Chopper will be a bit tricky. In an interview with IGN before the renewal announcement, showrunner Steven Maeda said that Chopper was his "favorite character," but that bringing him into the Netflix series fold would be "a challenge for sure."

'One Piece' teased Smoker, a new antagonist, at the end of season 1

At the end of season one of Netflix's "One Piece," the show teases a new character who burns a cigar through a wanted poster of Luffy. This is likely Marine Captain "White Chase" Smoker, who spends the next section of the anime chasing Luffy and the Strawhats.

The teaser seems to suggest that, like in season one, the Marines will be the main antagonists of season two as they try to capture Luffy. However, there is one other "One Piece" major villain that was also teased in season one — the leader of Baroque Works.

What's the plot of 'One Piece' season 2?

Oda confirmed in a letter released in August 2024 that season two would cover a few arcs from the manga: Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island.

Season one of "One Piece" made some diversions from the early chapters of the manga, but stayed relatively faithful to its major plot points. While we can't be sure how the show will adapt the action to come, we can get a rough idea from what happens in the manga. 

For those who aren't manga readers (and are spoiler-curious), the second season will likely take us through Chopper joining the Straw Hat crew. To get to that point, Luffy's crew must evade the Marines as they pass through Loguetown, where the former Pirate King Gold Roger was executed. After that, they'll cross over into the Grand Line by scaling Reverse Mountain. On the other side, they'll encounter the town of Whiskey Peak, which has ties to the organization Baroque Works. 

After that point, Luffy and his friends travel to an island named Little Garden, which is inhabited by a variety of prehistoric creatures as well as two dueling giants named Dorry and Broggy. Then, they arrive on Drum Island and seek out a doctor. That search leads them to Dr. Kureha, a mysterious doctor, and her disciple Chopper. It also puts them at odds with Wapol, Drum Island's tyrannical leader. 

Oda's announcement also confirms that we won't be getting the highly-anticipated Arabasta arc from the manga, though Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island are all part of the broader Arabasta Saga. More to look forward to in (hopefully!) season three!

How many seasons of Netflix's live-action 'One Piece' will there be?

The original anime has over 1,000 episodes and is still not completed, which raises questions as to how far will the live-action series go.

Clements and Adelstein told Deadline that the live-action producers and showrunner Matt Owens already have plans for six seasons.

"We have hopes for 12 seasons, there's so much material," Adelstein.

"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," Clements said. "It really could go on and on and on."

She added: "We've definitely had more thorough conversations about what we would do with Season 2 should we have the opportunity, and then less extensive conversations about where we would go for seasons three to six."

For context, season one of the live-action show covered almost 100 chapters of the manga and over 40 episodes of the anime. At that rate, season six would land around the Sabaordy or Marineford Saga, which is one of the major points of the anime.

"One Piece" season one is currently available to stream on Netflix.