One of the biggest characters from One Piece that fans have been waiting to see cast in the Netflix’s live-action adaptation is Ace. The fire-bending brother of Monkey D. Luffy plays a giant role in the source material, aiding the Straw Hat Pirates while having a meaningful and rich past in the Grand Line. As the live-action series prepares to release its second season in March of next year, the show is preparing its third season on the desert island known as Alabasta. With this in mind, casting has begun, and Ace D. Portgas has found its live-action actor.
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For quite some time, One Piece fans have been rallying for Xolo Maridueña to play Ace, and it appears that their cries for the Cobra Kai actor to join the Straw Hats weren’t ignored. Xolo has officially been cast as Luffy’s brother in Netflix’s One Piece, with Maridueña having a big history in Hollywood these past few years. Alongside Cobra Kai, the young actor took on the titular role of Blue Beetle in the DCU film, while also lending his voice to animated projects such as Sakamoto Days, Smurfs, Invincible, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, and more. Needless to say, this is big news for the live-action adaptation that has taken the world by storm.
One Piece’s Ace In The Hole
Netflix made sure to celebrate the big news with an official announcement, which reads, “ONE PIECE will sail into its third season with an ace in the hole. The pirate fantasy adventure has recruited Xolo Maridueña (Blue Beetle) to portray Portgas D. Ace in Season 3, which heads back into production later this year in Cape Town, South Africa. The live-action series secured an early Season 3 renewal in August. He joins recently announced cast member Cole Escola (the Tony Award-winning star of the Broadway play Oh, Mary!), who will play theatrical assassin Bon Clay in the third installment.”
Last year, Xolo had actually addressed the rumors of becoming a part of the One Piece cast, stating that it was a dream of his to hop aboard the Netflix series, “It’s a dream, but at the same time, it has to be right. I’ve got to audition for it. I’ve got to go the same route as everyone else. Unless they’re like, ‘Hey, this guy here is so perfect’.”
While there are still quite a few denizens of Alabasta that have yet to be cast, some of the biggest have already been confirmed for the third season. Joe Manganiello is playing the big bad of seasons two and three, Crocodile, while Lera Abova will take on the role of current villain, and future Straw Hat, Nico Robin. For season two, the cast includes the likes of Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, Joe Manganiello as Crocodile, Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha, Lera Abova as Nico Robin, Mark Harelik as Dr. Hiriluk, Sendhil Ramamurthy as Nefertari Cobra, Brendan Sean Murray as Brogy, Callum Kerr as Smoker, Camrus Johnson as Mr. 5, Clive Russell as Crocus, Daniel Lasker as Mr. 9, David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3, Jazzara Jaslyn as Miss Valentine, Julia Rehwald as Tashigi, Rob Colletti as Wapol, Ty Keogh as Dalton and Werner Coetser as Dorry.
What do you think of Monkey D. Luffy’s brother finally being cast in the live-action take on the Grand Line? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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