It has been over a month since the live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece hit Netflix, but the interest remains high. The series now gets a second-season renewal thanks to its huge success. But as it may take a while before its production begins, with the WGA strike just recently ended and the SAG-AFTRA strike still ongoing, it’s now likened to Harry Potter by one of its cinematographers, Hirsch Whitaker.
Netflix has successfully brought Oda’s masterpiece to life, bringing in a new generation of fans for the franchise. It’s deemed to break the curse of the streamer’s live-action adaptation of anime series like Cowboy Bebop and Death Note. In fact, with a lot of source material on hand, with over 1,000 manga chapters and anime episodes, many are now clamoring to see the next seasons. However, it will face the same problem as Harry Potter, with its actors growing old fast.
In an interview with The Direct, Whitaker, the first two episode’s director of photography, revealed time is important when making a series like One Piece. Sure, there are a lot of materials for the second season, but people behind the show have to do it fast.
“It's gonna be like Harry Potter, though,” he said. “They're gonna have to do it fast before everybody gets too old.”
How old is Luffy in One Piece?
Luffy is 17 years old in the majority of One Piece. However, he also aged during the series’ time-skip, both in the anime and manga, though only for two years. In reality, Iñaki Godoy is 20 years old today, though he was only 18 when the show’s production began in February 2022 and wrapped up in July of the same year. So, by the time One Piece Season 2 starts filming, he’ll be probably 21 years old.
The curse of aging has been a common problem in TV series today. Stranger Things and Game of Thrones face the same issue, featuring young characters who eventually turn into full-blown adults when they end. The same could be said for Harry Potter. The lead star was meant to be 17 when the franchise ended, but Warner Bros. managed to keep pace as Daniel Radcliffe was only 22 then.
But compared to Harry Potter, One Piece is much longer, while its actors are also older. That said, the clock is now ticking for this Netflix live-action adaptation to continue as soon as possible.
