Last month, production began on Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the popular anime One Piece. Now, with filming well underway, fans have been given some very important casting news: Peter Gadiot has been cast in the series as Shanks, aka “Red-Haired Shanks”, the legendary Pirate.
One Piece is based on a manga of the same name from writer and illustrator Eiichiro Oda that has been running since 1997 and, with over a thousand chapters, is still releasing new installments to this day. The anime adaptation of the manga has been airing since 1999, with over a thousand episodes and a number of theatrical tie-in films. The series follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who has a body made of rubber, who sets off on a journey to find the One Piece, a mythical treasure that gives its holder the ability to declare themselves the Pirate King. In his journey, Luffy encounters many new friends, enemies, and a lot of adventure. Shanks is a legendary pirate who is the one who inspires Luffy to become a pirate in the first place and search out the One Piece. In the manga and anime, Shanks is often seen as a secondary protagonist alongside Luffy.
Gadiot’s casting was announced in a video on the Netflix series' official Twitter account. In the short video, the Yellowjackets star personally announces that he will be playing Shanks, before confirming that he is in Cape Town currently working on the production. One Piece will not be Gadiot’s first experience in stepping in the shoes of a fan beloved character: the actor previously starred in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as a character based on the Genie from Aladdin.
Gadiot will be joining the previously announced cast of Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, Taz Skylar, Morgan Davies, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Aidan Scott, Jeff Ward, McKinley Belcher III, and Vincent Regan. The live-action adaptation is written by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda ,who will also be serving together on the series as co-showrunners and executive producers. They are joined as executive producers by Marty Adelstein, Becky Clements, and Oda.
Currently, filming on One Piece is underway in Cape Town with no release date currently announced. Check out Gadiot’s casting announcement video below: