Avast ye — the Straw Hat Pirates are dropping anchor in the first quarter of next year. After months of building up the hype, Netflix has announced that One Piece Season 2 will premiere on 10 March 2026, whisking Luffy and his crew away to the Grand Line, where new adventures, more strange islands, and formidable new enemies lie in wait.
Among them is Drum Island, home to a brutal, endless winter, tall, cylindrical mountains, Drum Castle, and skilled doctors. Fans would know what this means: the live-action debut of Tony Tony Chopper, played by Mikaela Hoover (2025’s Superman), and his beloved ally, Doctor Kureha (Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy). As previously shared by series creator Eiichiro Oda, other featured locations include Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, and Little Garden.
“Drum Kingdom is a winter island. It’s our medieval Winterfell Game of Thrones location, where you have this haunted-seeming castle at the top of a snowy mountain inhabited by someone the villagers say is a witch,” said co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer Joe Tracz on Tudum, which also unveiled some first-look images:
Stars Iñaki Godoy, who portrays Monkey D. Luffy, Emily Rudd (Nami), Mackenyu (Zoro), Jacob Romero Gibson (Usopp), Taz Skyler (Sanji), Morgan Davies (Koby), and Jeff Ward (Buggy), Ilia Isorelys Paulino (Alvida) will reprise their roles in One Piece Season 2, alongside a whole slew of newcomers that include Joe Manganiello as Mr. 0, Clive Russell as Crocus, Lera Abova as Miss All-Sunday, and more.
The series has undergone several change of hands across its two seasons. Originally developed by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, who served as co-showrunners on Season 1, the show lost the latter first, with Tracz stepping up to the plate. Owens announced his departure from the second season at a later date, citing mental health reasons. A third season is in development.
Over on the animation front, a major shake-up to tradition is underway. Toei Animation and One Piece anime producer Ryūta Koike has announced a new production schedule for the long-running series that will reduce its annual episode output to a maximum of 26 episodes across two seasons. The change is set to kick in after a three-month hiatus from January to March 2026, following the conclusion of the Egghead arc this year. When it resumes its run in April, the Elbaph arc will begin.
According to the official X/Twitter post, this will allow episodes to “incorporate more content, tempo, and pacing of the manga while continuing to leverage the unique storytelling that is only possible with animation.”
It ends with, “Don’t worry, Nakama — you’ll have a chance to gear up for the next adventure. Stay tuned for exciting surprises during the series’ break!”.
Previously, the anime took a six-month break in October 2024 to give the production team more time to work on the animation quality, and for the manga to widen its lead. It has logged over 1,140 episodes since its 1999 debut, with the Egghead arc wrapping up this year.
One Piece Season 2, subtitled ‘Into the Grand Line’, sets sail for Netflix on 10 March 2026.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
