One Piece season 3 hasn’t been confirmed yet, and while the news that it would be filmed back to back with season 2 has since been debunked, this would actually solve a major problem with Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s manga. During an interview with Comicbook.com, One Piece Patty actor Brashaad Mayweather speculated about the future of the show, particularly the possibility of filming more than one season back to back. This led many to assume that One Piece had been renewed for season 3 already, which has since been confirmed not to be the case.

Mayweather clarified (via X) that they were just speculating about the future of the series, meaning there is no official confirmation regarding One Piece filming two seasons back to back. One Piece season 2 is currently in production, with the series expected to cover the Arabasta saga in the next episodes. It is unclear whether the Netflix live-action anime show will once again have eight episodes. Regardless, the series has quite a lot of arcs to cover from the Arabasta saga, the first of countless adventures Luffy encounters after entering the Grand Line.

One Piece Filming Back To Back Would Solve A Major Timeline Issue

One Piece live-action has way too many stories to cover

Even if One Piece season 3 is not filmed back to back with the second season, this is a strategy that the show should use eventually. Based on the pacing of the first season, it would take Netflix’s One Piece 12 seasons or more to catch up with the manga, which hasn’t even concluded yet. Even if the live-action show cuts entire arcs and storylines, it would still take over a decade for it to cover all the important sagas from the One Piece manga. Realistically, the structure of One Piece makes it difficult for it to work as a live-action series.

For example, assuming it would take a year or more for each season of One Piece to come out, the show’s cast would quickly age out of their characters. Apart from the two-year time skip, which only happens much later in the story, most of One Piece’s main characters are teenagers or young adults. It would be very tricky for One Piece live-action to adjust the ages and the storylines of the characters considering the passing of time in the real world. Additionally, even Netflix hits like Stranger Things and Cobra Kai only lasted so many seasons.

The Netflix Show Filming Seasons Back-To-Back Would Keep Things Consistent

One Piece’s characters can’t age too much before the time-skip

One Piece filming two seasons back-to-back moving forward would help keep things consistent in terms of how the characters should look. Another important thing to consider is that, unlike major TV sagas like Game of Thrones or Stranger Things, One Piece’s story arcs usually pick up right from where the previous one left off. There has been only one time skip in One Piece since the inception of the saga. This means that, from an in-universe perspective, things happen very fast for Luffy and his crew.

One Piece also includes a lot of flashbacks and often revisits stories from way before Luffy’s journey started. Filming more than one season back to back would allow the Netflix show to keep the same actors for every flashback, even the ones that happen much later. The One Piece characters’ ages are also important in terms of what the Straw Hats and the “Worst Generation” represent to the world of One Piece. Luffy, his friends, and even some of his adversaries are the symbols of a new generation of young pirates who quickly make a name for themselves.

One Piece Needs A Timeline Plan Given How Long The Anime Is

Netflix’s One Piece catching up with the anime is virtually impossible

Regardless of One Piece eventually starting filming two seasons back-to-back, the fact is that the Netflix live-action show needs a timeline plan given how long the anime is. The One Piece anime has been releasing new episodes since 1999, whereas the manga has been around since 1997. There are 1108 One Piece episodes as of the writing of this article, of which the live-action series only covered 50 or so. Even without considering One Piece’s filler episodes, it would be a herculean effort for the Netflix adaptation to get to Egghead.

Avatar: The Last Airbender was renewed for two more seasons, which will be enough to cover the rest of the animated series. For One Piece, however, covering all of the existing source material seems like a virtually impossible goal. This is why One Piece should focus on smaller milestones before trying to catch up with the anime. It would be interesting to see a live-action version of Water 7 and Enies Lobby, which should happen in a potential fourth season. No matter the approach Netflix’s One Piece takes, it must have a clear timeline plan.

Source: Comicbook.com

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