Netflix’s One Piece Is Already Facing the ‘Harry Potter’ Problem

It has been over a month since Netflix’s One Piece went live, and the show is an unmistakable hit. Thanks to its all-star crew, the show managed to bring Eiichiro Oda’s rich story to life in a way that wowed fans both new and old. With so much success in hand, Netflix was quick to order a second season for One Piece, but one of the show’s crew members admits the series faces the same problem Harry Potter encountered.

And what is that? Well, it is the curse of aging. Hirsch Whitaker, one of the cinematographers on Netflix’s One Piece, says time is of the essence for season two and future seasons.

“[For] Season 2, there’s just, there’s so much material to be made based on the show. It’s gonna be like ‘Harry Potter’ though, they’re gonna have to do it fast before everybody gets too old,” the cinematographer shared with The Direct.

Of course, there is no denying the truth to Whitaker’s statement. Shows like Stranger Things and even Game of Thrones have run into this issue. When you have a show focused on young characters, there is a time limit on production. You want to finish the project before the stars are obviously too old for the role. For franchises like Harry Potter, the clock was always running against the main cast as its mains were meant to be 17 in canon when it ended. Warner Bros. kept the films on pace as star Daniel Radcliffe was 22 when the movie series ended, but Netflix’s One Piece is far more complex than Harry Potter in this regard.

Not only is Oda’s hit series much longer than Harry Potter, but its actors are older. For instance, Luffy is about 17 years old in the manga when One Piece starts, and he is 19 years old after the main time skip.Inaki Godoy, the talented actor who plays Luffy on screen, is already 20. While he may look young, you can imagine the clock is on for One Piece to film. So hopefully, the team behind the Netflix hit has a plan in place.

If you have not seen Netflix’s One Piece, the show’s first season is now streaming. You can also binge the One Piece anime on Netflix as well. For up-to-date episodes of the series, you can hit up Crunchyroll and Hulu to binge One Piece. 

What do you think about this One Piece hunch? Are you excited for Netflix’s One Piece season two to go live? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!