Netflix's One Piece season 3 has started filming, all but confirming which arc the live-action show will adapt next

One Piece
(Image credit: Netflix)

2025 is proving to be a great year for One Piece fans, as in addition to Netflix keeping us fed with a whole host of season 2 teasers, the streamer has now confirmed that One Piece season 3 has started filming.

The news was confirmed by One Piece's Twitter page, with the caption, "Production on Season 3 has started, Straw Hats!" This is all before One Piece season 2 hits screens, which will be on March 10, 2026. However, the most interesting part of the announcement is the image, which you can see below, showing the One Piece season 3 script lying in the desert surrounded by a skull, a compass, and a dagger.

If we're heading to the sandy dunes for season 3, it will no doubt adapt the Arabasta Arc from the manga, which sees the Straw Hats come across the desert kingdom of Arabasta located in the Grand Line. The dagger belongs to Portgas D. Ace, otherwise known as Fire Fist. We already knew that Ace was going to be brought to life in season 3, played by Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña. However, One Piece fans will know that Monkey D. Luffy's relationship with his brother Ace marks one of the most formative and gut-wrenching storylines in the One Piece series.

So what about the skull and the compass? One fan on Twitter suggested the compass might actually be the Log Pose. This is a special compass-like device belonging to Ace that uses magnetic fields to navigate the Grand Line. The fan also said that the skull might be the same one from the St. Briss ship that falls out of the sky in the beginning stages of the Skypiea Arc.

However, although we can see how similar the compass in the picture is to the Log Pose from the One Piece anime series, other fans don't seem to agree about the skull. "The skull is the famine Alabasta is currently suffering," replied one fan, and another suggested, "The skull is a symbol of Crocodile's devil fruit." We will just have to wait and see.

No plot details for season 3 have been released just yet, but season 2 will take us to the Grand Line, where our favorite band of pirates will set sail and navigate new territories, such as Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, and Little Garden.

One Piece season 2 hits Netflix on March 10, 2026. Season 3 does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows.

Editorial Associate, GamesRadar+

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for SFX and Total Film online. I have a Bachelors Degree in Media Production and Journalism and a Masters in Fashion Journalism from UAL. In the past I have written for local UK and US newspaper outlets such as the Portland Tribune and York Mix and worked in communications, before focusing on film and entertainment writing. I am a HUGE horror fan and in 2022 I created my very own single issue feminist horror magazine.  

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