Netflix releases One Piece season 2 teaser and confirms season 3 is on the way

It looks like Netflix doesn't plan on parting ways with the Straw Hats any time soon, with news that the streaming service has now given the go-ahead on a third season of One Piece before the second has even hit our shores. The announcement was made at the annual One Piece Day celebration in Tokyo, along with the news that the creative crew behind the series will be seeing an adjustment in the form of the show's executive producer, Ian Stokes, who will be joining Joe Tracz as showrunner. In addition to all this, Netflix also released a brand new teaser for the show, which gave us glimpses at some brand new characters and a very big whale.

Season 2, entitled One Piece: Into the Grand Line, will reunite us with Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and his pals as they head off to find the legendary patch of water in search of the elusive booty that will make our hero King of the Pirates. Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji are all reporting for duty to face off against a new collection of colorful characters.

Making themselves known along the way are Callum Kerr as Captain Smoker, Brendan Sean Murray as the big fella with the horned helmet, Brogy, and Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday. Keen-eyed fans will notice that one character that was absent from the teaser was one of the Straw Hats' newest and beloved members, Chopper. That can be overlooked, though, thanks to the preview's massive money shot of their ship, the Going Merry, riding into the mouth of the giant whale, Laboon.

It looks like things are in order, which might come as a surprise given the slightly rough waters the show encountered behind the scenes and the various names that have been at the show's helm and left it behind. Initially developed for live-action by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, both operated as co-showrunners for season 1, until Maeda parted ways before season 2, leading to Tracz taking his place. Unfortunately, Owens followed shortly after working on season 2, which has now led to Stokes stepping in.

We'll have to wait and see just how things have panned out when One Piece: Into the Grand Line hits Netflix sometime next year. For now, though, here's a list of every other big show headed your way to keep an eye out for this year.