It looks like one of the world’s biggest anime series is about to go the way of Marvel. Thanks to a brand-new update from Eiichiro Oda himself, fans have learned a writer has been selected for the live-action adaptation of One Piece. Oh, and it turns out Matt Owens will be the one penning the series.
The announcement went live in the latest issue of Shonen Jump. It was there fans learned Owens has been tasked with overseeing the adaptation after working on TV series like Luke Cage as well as Agents of SHIELD and The Defenders.
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“One Piece is the most beloved story in my life. To be trusted by Oda-Sensei and everyone at Shueisha and Tomorrow Studios to take on the huge task of adapting this epic, heart-warming adventure into live-action is the greatest honor,” Owens said about the anime series.
“I want to make the most of my passion for One Piece by creating a thrilling live-action series which is faithful to the original story and will not only satisfy longtime fans, but bring in new fans as well.”
For fans, this announcement is a major one as it is the first to go live since news first dropped of the adaptation’s development. Oda confirmed a live-action version of One Piece would be made back in 2017, and its producer Marty Adelstein believes Owens is the “perfect” man to bring Monkey D. Luffy to the masses.
“When I first saw Matt’s presentation explaining his vision of the live-action adaptation, I thought he would be perfect for the job. What impressed me the most is that he is a true One Piece fan. I am very excited to be able to work with a scriptwriter as talented as Matt,” Adelstein said in a statement.
So far, there are no details on what the series will be about, but reports have suggested the adaptation will begin at the same starting point the manga did. The famed ‘East Blue’ arc will likely be the first storyline tackled by Owens and the whole of Tomorrow ITV Studios. With a writer on board, One Piece can start making important headway with development, and fans are curious to see how the Straw Hats with take to the world of live-action television.
So, are you excited for this upcoming live-action project? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece first began serialization in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997. It has since been collected into over 80 volumes, and has been a critical and commercial success worldwide with many of the volumes breaking printing records in Japan. The manga has even set a Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book by a single author, and is the best-selling manga series worldwide with over 430 million copies sold. The series still ranked number one in manga sales in 2018, which surprised fans of major new entries.
