Summary
- Jamie Lee Curtis will not be in
One Piece
season 2 due to scheduling conflicts, but fans can still look forward to Kureha’s appearance. - Despite Curtis missing out, the show’s confirmation that Kureha will appear in season 2 promises a continuation of the faithful approach to adapting its source material.
- Fans are sure to now speculate on who Curtis could potentially play in the future, with current candidates including Boa Hancock and Big Mom.
Despite plenty of campaigning on both sides, Jamie Lee Curtis will not be appearing in One Piece season 2. Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s manga of the same name proved to be the surprise hit of 2023, receiving largely positive reviews from critics and audiences alike for its faithful approach to its source material, as well as drawing in massive viewership in its first few weeks. Netflix officially confirmed One Piece season 2 just two weeks after season 1’s release, with filming having gotten underway in June 2024.
As cameras have begun rolling on the new season, Deadline spoke with Tomorrow Studios’ Becky Clements to get some insight on One Piece season 2. When asked about the major fan campaigns for Jamie Lee Curtis to star as Dr. Kureha in the new season, the executive producer disappointingly confirmed that the Oscar winner will not make an appearance due to scheduling conflicts, though did also reveal that they have cast “an amazing person” to play the character. See what Clements explained below:
She loves the show. She has too many films and TV shows that she’s going into production on, so our production dates aren’t going to work. She definitely wanted to do it, but she’s got deals in first position, and it just became complicated. We have found an amazing person.
Kureha’s Inclusion Is Great News (Even If Not Played By Curtis)
Well before the show had even premiered on the streamer, Curtis had frequently expressed her desire to star in Netflix’s One Piece show, with her eyes set on playing Dr. Kureha, after humorously noting she’s “a little old” to be playing her other desired character, Nico Robin. The year following season 1’s premiere saw this casting campaign heat up as Curtis again confirmed she would be open to lobbying for the role, though only after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes lifted. Showrunner Matt Owens shared her sentiment, inviting her to talk without a need for her to lobby.
Though Clements’ confirmation that Curtis won’t be playing the character may come as a disappointment, there is some positive news in that Kureha has now been confirmed for One Piece season 2. Given the season was already set to introduce Tony Tony Chopper to the roster, it seemed all but a given that the offbeat doctor would appear in some capacity as well. In both the manga and long-running One Piece anime, Chopper works under Kureha when she took him in after his caretaker’s death, teaching him the ways of medicine before he went on to join the Straw Hat Pirates.
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While curiosity is now aimed at who was cast to play Kureha in One Piece season 2, curiosity also remains as to whether Curtis will get the chance to play another character in the show’s future. Even in the midst of the campaigning, some fans of the franchise have put out other ideas for who Curtis could portray, ranging from the Kuja tribe’s Boa Hancock to Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom and the captain of the Big Mom Pirates. Given Curtis’ enthusiasm for the material, it would certainly be a missed opportunity not to try and find another spot for her in One Piece.
Source: Deadline
One Piece (Live-Action)
Based on the popular manga/anime series, One Piece is a live-action Netflix adaptation of the story from Eiichiro Oda. The show follows the exploits of a band of pirates, the Straw Hats, led by the energetic and adventure-loving Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is a young man cursed with strange powers after accidentally eating a mysterious fruit. With his friends Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, Luffy will head across the vast ocean to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece.
- Cast
- Iñaki Godoy , Mackenyu , Emily Rudd , Jacob Romero Gibson , Taz Skylar
- Release Date
- August 31, 2023
- Seasons
- 1
- Writers
- Matt Owens , Steven Maeda , Tom Hyndman
- Showrunner
- Matt Owens
