Everything we know about season 2 of Netflix's 'One Piece'

• Netflix just announced that its live-action "One Piece" show will return for a second season.
• Season two is likely to focus on the second section of the anime and manga, the Arabasta Saga.

It's official: Netflix's "One Piece" has been renewed for a second season. The streamer announced the news on Thursday, just two weeks after season one's release on August 31.

The live-action series, based on an anime and manga of the same name, follows a friendly pirate called Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) on his adventure to find the legendary One Piece treasure hidden by a past Pirate King.

In season one, Luffy makes several friends and enemies and collects four crewmates: sword-wielding pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu Arata), pirate thief and navigator Nami (Emily Rudd), kickboxing chef Sanji (Taz Skylar) and compulsive liar and sharpshooter Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson).

Here is everything we know so far about season two of Netflix's "One Piece."

When will 'One Piece' season 2 be released?

The series renewal was confirmed by the original manga's creator and illustrator Eiichiro Oda in a video released by Netflix on September 14. Oda didn't address the season 2 release date in his video, only noting that it will "still take a while to get the scripts ready" and asking fans to be patient while they wait.

However, Marty Adelstein — the CEO of Tomorrow Studios, which produces the live-action show — told Variety earlier in September that scripts have been written for season two.

Season one was first announced in July 2017, but did not premiere until August 31, 2023. However, season two is likely to not take quite as long, since production on the first season was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Production on the second season will likely still be stalled by the current SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes against the AMPTP. Actors and writers across Hollywood are currently striking against the major studios, including Netflix, over a number of factors, stopping almost all productions from these studios.

However, Tomorrow Studios president Becky Clements told Variety in the same September report that season 2 could be released as early as next year, once the strike ends.

"Realistically, hopefully, a year away, if we move very quickly, and that is a possibility," Clements said. "Somewhere between a year and 18 months, we could be ready for air."

Given that estimate, the "One Piece" season 2 release date might fall somewhere in late 2024 or early 2025.

Which 'One Piece' cast members will return for season 2?

While the season two cast has not been confirmed, it is likely many of the main cast will return if the series follows the anime. This includes Luffy and the other main Straw Hat pirates as well as Alvida (Ilia Paulino) and Buggy the Pirate (Jeff Ward) since they feature prominently in the next section of the story.

It is unclear whether Garp (Vincent Regan), Koby (Morgan Davies), Helmeppo (Aidan Scott), and Bogard (Armand Aucamp) will return since they weren't in the next part of the anime. However, the live-action series has already made many significant changes to include those characters earlier in the story than in the anime, which means they may bring them back in season two.

It is also unclear whether Shanks (Peter Gadiot) and his crew will return in season two.

The season will also likely introduce new cast members as there are a lot of new major characters in the next season, including new crewmates for Luffy. One fan-favorite character, Chopper, was already teased in Oda's video.

"From here on, it seems to me the Straw Hats will need a great doctor... We will see!" Oda teased in the video, before it cut to footage of him drawing the iconic crew member.

Chopper is a reindeer who ate the Human-Human Devil Fruit, giving him sentience and the power to transform into various human-reindeer hybrid forms. He eventually joins the Straw Hats as the crew's much-needed doctor.

Given that he isn't fully human, it's natural that depicting Chopper will be a bit tricky. In an interview with IGN before the renewal announcement, showrunner Steven Maeda said that Chopper was his "favorite character," but that bringing him into the fold would be "a challenge for sure."

'One Piece' season 2 new characters might include Smoker as a main antagonist

At the end of season one of Netflix's "One Piece," the show teases a new character who burns a cigar through a wanted poster of Luffy. This is likely Marine Captain "White Chase" Smoker, who spends the next section of the anime chasing Luffy and the Strawhats.

The teaser seems to suggest that, like in season one, the Marines will be the main antagonists of season two as they try to capture Luffy. However, there is one other "One Piece" major villain that was also teased in season one.

How many seasons of Netflix's live-action 'One Piece' will there be?

The original anime has over 1,000 episodes and is still not completed, which raises questions as to how far will the live-action series go.

Clements and Adelstein told Deadline that the live-action producers and showrunner Matt Owens already have plans for six seasons.

"We have hopes for 12 seasons, there's so much material," Adelstein.

"We have plans with Matt Owens for how we would break multiple seasons, and I think even if we did six seasons, we would probably only use up half of the chapters of the manga," Clements said. "It really could go on and on and on."

She added: "We've definitely had more thorough conversations about what we would do with Season 2 should we have the opportunity, and then less extensive conversations about where we would go for season three to six.

For context, season one of the live-action show covered almost 100 chapters of the manga and over 40 episodes of the anime. At that rate, season six would land around the Sabaordy or Marineford Saga, which is one of the major points of the anime.

Netflix's "One Piece" season one is available now on Netflix.