Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Teases First Episode Title

So much has happened since January 2020 — honestly, it’s been hard to stay in one piece the whole time. Thankfully, Netflix has the cure: the live action version of One Piece, which finally has an update. After the streamer announced the news over a year and a half ago, they finally shared what appears to be a completed script for the first episode.

“No matter how hard or how impossible it is, never lose sight of your goal,” the official One Piece Netflix Twitter account shared with an image of a script.

Don’t get too excited about any other revealing news in the tweet: all the image shares is the first episode’s title — “Romance Dawn” — as well as writers Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, and credits to the original writer, Eiichoro Oda. We’re left to our own speculations as per release date, production schedule, cast, and more.

What could that first episode title mean, you ask? We do have some answers as to “Romance Dawn.” Per CBR, “Romance Dawn” was an episode of the original One Piece anime that gave us a peek into what the series could have been, had the initial pilot looked a little different. Our beloved Luffy gets a bit of a different storyline: his ambition to be a great pirate is still around, but the treasure has changed and we’re introduced to a handful of new folks.

The original “Romance Dawn” lore came from two stories written by Oda before he penned One Piece; so the whole thing is a spin on Luffy’s character, if you will. Does that mean that Luffy, the Straw Hat Pirates, and the rest of the gang will take a completely different form in this new adaptation? We’ll have to wait and see, but it appears we may be getting something entirely new than the beloved anime series and manga.

According to Netflix, this upcoming live-action series has been ordered for 10 episodes. One Piece will be executive produced by Oda. Maeda and Owens will serve as the series showrunners, with Tomorrow Studios’ Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements set as executive producers.

Rumors about a live-action One Piece series first started circulating in July of 2017. Weekly Shōnen Jump’s editor Hiroyuki Nakano announced that Tomorrow Studios would start developing the series for an American audience.

Originally released in July 1997, One Piece follows the wild tale of of Monkey D. Luffy, an ambitious boy whose body is turned to a rubbery substance after he eats a Devil Fruit. All the while, he and his pals are yearning to find the world’s most ultimate treasure, known as the “One Piece.” If they find the One Piece treasure? Well, Luffy becomes the King of the Pirates, then. That’s the dream!

Stay tuned for more updates on One Piece.

Where to watch One Piece