Netflix's One Piece: Why Joe Manganiello Is a Perfect Pick for Crocodile

Joe Manganiello is going to be the perfect Crocodile in Netflix's One Piece

By Nick Valdez

One Piece has added Joe Manganiello to the cast of Netflix's live-action series ahead of Season 2, and the Spider-Man, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and Magic Mike star is a perfect fit for the role of Mr. 0, otherwise known as the "Desert King" Sir Crocodile. One Piece has been in the midst of production on Season 2 of the live-action series this Summer, and it was surprisingly revealed that Manganiello would be joining the cast in the new episodes. With the new season introducing more of the mysterious Baroque Works organization, it's all starting to come together. 

While there are still a few more members of Baroque Works left to be revealed heading into One Piece Season 2 with Netflix, Manganiello will be sitting at the top of the organization as Mr. 0. He's going to play a critical role in the coming season and beyond, so it's fitting that Netflix has nabbed a star that's going to be fairly imposing for Luffy and the Straw Hats needing to face in the future. It's even more so as future seasons pick up from the arcs planned for Season 2. 

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(Photo: Warner Bros. Discovery / Shueisha)

One Piece: Who Is Crocodile? 

Crocodile is introduced to Eiichiro Oda's original One Piece manga and anime series as Mr. 0, the leader of Baroque Works. Baroque Works is a group of deadly pirates that pairs a male and female character together in two person teams to take out different targets (as Crocodile is teamed up with Miss All Sunday, who will be played by Lera Abova in the series). Crocodile stands at the top of this organization, and plans to take over a kingdom in the future of the series. It's all likely to come after the second season of Netflix's One Piece series, however, so it's a bit difficult to explain fully who this character is without spoiling some of the cool stuff Crocodile does in the future. 

Eiichiro Oda had previously teased that One Piece Season 2 will be tackling the Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island arcs from the original manga. These arcs continue to introduce the members of Baroque Works and build up the eventual confrontation against Crocodile with the Alabasta saga. Crocodile is the first major foe that Luffy and the Straw Hats build to with their journey into the Grand Line, so Manganiello is going to stick around for quite a while if this live-action series continues to be successful. 

Why Manganiello Is Perfect for Crocodile

But while it's tough to explain why Crocodile is important without spoiling too much about his role in the overall One Piece story, it's easier to explain how much of an impact this character has. It's Luffy's first real villain within the Grand Line, and he's a foe that's fought after several different arcs serving as building blocks before he gets his own hands dirty. Manganiello is perfect for this kind of position within the live-action One Piece story. Crocodile's early appearances made waves with fans of the series through the intensity of his visual alone long before he did anything concrete. 

He was a shadowy looming threat that was building in the background while Luffy and the others were taking on others in the interim, and each look at Crocodile further served to emphasize that he was the leader of a grand organization with some other sinister motive in mind. It's the perfect take for Manganiello as he has that same kind of visual impact. He can do a lot with very little, and that's going to be important as Season 2 will have many of these building blocks for later. 

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Crocodile being such a big name star as well further goes to show the kind of respect that Netflix has for the One Piece brand. While the casting for the series has been on point thus far, Season 2 has seemingly raised the stakes with several major names that fans would have never expected to see (such as Katey Sagal joining as Dr. Kureha for the Drum Island arc episodes or David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3 for Little Garden). Manganiello is the perfect kind of turning point that not only reflects just how big the Grand Line is, but that Netflix is dedicated to finding the perfect actors for each of the big characters. 

One Piece is supposed to feel grand and huge in scale, and Manganiello is the perfect way to help tip those scales. It's going to make for an interesting watch in the coming season, so make sure you're all caught up with everything that has happened in the live-action series so far now streaming its first season with Netflix. 

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