Yes, you read that right—longtime manga juggernaut One Piece will be getting the Hollywood treatment, and a writer for Marvel is on board to write the script. Matt Owens, whose credits include episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Luke Cage, is set to pen the script for One Piece’s upcoming Hollywood debut, which will be in the form of a TV series.
Weekly Shonen Jump broke the news to fans Monday, along with a message from Owens himself, which reads:
”One Piece is my absolute favorite story in my life. It is my greatest honor to have the trust of Oda-sensei, Shueisha, and everyone at Tomorrow Studios to be appointed to this great role of adapting this magnificent and heart-pounding adventure into live-action. I want to display my great passion and make a story that is faithful and exciting, and will satisfy long-time fans and will also attract new fans.”
One Piece’s Hollywood TV series will be produced by Tomorrow Studios, a partnership between producer Marty Adelstein (Teen Wolf, Prison Break, as well as the live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop) and ITV Studios. Shonen Jump also published a message from producer Adelstein, who expressed confidence that Owens was “perfect” for the upcoming project:
”When I first heard Matt’s presentation of his vision for the work, I thought he was the perfect person to take on this project. What is the most impressive and important to me is that he is a true One Piece fan. I am very excited I can work with Matt, who has an overflowing talent as a scriptwriter.”
The Hollywood live-action adaptation was first announced on the manga’s 20th anniversary last July 2017. When the news broke out, Adelstein stated in an interview that the One Piece live-action adaptation “could set a new record for the highest production cost in television drama history.” In 2018, he also stated he and series creator Eiichiro Oda have agreed that the series will start with the East Blue arc and will “broaden on from there”. No other details have been revealed on the project.
Source: Anime News Network