Netflix’s One Piece: Arlong Actor Reacts to His Big New Gig

One Piece made waves earlier this week when the upcoming live-action adaptation set to hit Netflix announced new heroes and villains that would be diving into the first season of the series. With one of these new characters being the fishman known as Arlong, a villain to Luffy and his crew, actor McKinley Belcher addressed a point made by a fan via his Official Twitter Account, explaining why he decided to take this role and how grateful he is when it comes to bringing Arlong to life. 

McKinley Belcher posted a response to a fan that responded to the actor’s recent casting as a part of One Piece’s live-action Netflix adaptation, with the actor stating how he was grateful to bring the character to life and explaining why Arlong’s past of “mistreatment and abuse” strengthens the swashbuckler:

You’re right about that first part, Arlong has lived through a lot of mistreatment and abuse. But I’m grateful I get to play a character with that kind of depth, means I sit in a privileged seat to say something meaningful while playing a badass who won’t let “men”decide his fate

— McKinley Belcher III (@McKinleyBcubed) March 9, 2022

The casting news released for Netflix’s One Piece sees the following actors set to play the roles of some of the biggest movers and shakers of the early days of the Shonen series that was spawned from the mind of Eiichiro Oda and remains one of the biggest anime franchises to this day:

• Morgan Davies (they/them) will play Koby. (Credits: The End, The Evil Dead: Rise)

• Ilia Isorelýs Paulino (she/her) will play Alvida. (Credits: The Sex Lives of College Girls, Me Time)

• Aidan Scott (he/him) will play Helmeppo. (Credits: Action Point, Between the Devil)

• Jeff Ward (he/him) will play Buggy. (Credits: Brand New Cherry Flavor, Hacks)

• McKinley Belcher III (he/him) will play Arlong. (Credits: Ozark, The Good Lord Bird)

• Vincent Regan (he/him) will play Garp. (Credits: Troy, 300)

On top of these new additions, the live-action take on the world of the Grand Line is set to have the Straw Hat Pirates front and center in the ten-episode first season, with the main heroes set to include Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji.

What do you think of Belcher’s response when it comes to bringing Arlong to life? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.