After featuring in a breakout role on Netflix’s Cobra Kai, Xolo Maridueña (Code 3, Smurfs) is coming to the streamer’s live-action adaptation of One Piece, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Maridueña will feature as “Portgas D. Ace” in the show’s upcoming third season, which is set to begin production later this year in Cape Town, South Africa, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Based on Japan’s number one manga series in history written by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is set on the high seas of the Blue Planet and follows aspiring pirate Monkey D. Luffy on his quest to find the legendary fabled treasure, the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates, according to an official synopsis provided by The Hollywood Reporter.
After premiering in 2023, the series occupied Netflix’s Global Top 10 for eight weeks and was the number one show in more than 75 countries, even becoming the first English-language Netflix series to reach the top spot in Japan, The Hollywood Reporter notes.
Maridueña’s addition to the series comes after he starred in DC’s 2023 film Blue Beetle. According to The Hollywood Reporter, James Gunn (Peacemaker, Guardians of the Galaxy), who co-chairs DC Studios and recently directed the company’s instant hit Superman this year, said that he believes the character will “fit in very nicely” with DC’s new phase, although no details have yet been announced.
Maridueña will star alongside Iñaki Godoy (Don’t Open the Door, The Imperfects), who headlines the series as Luffy, as well as Emily Rudd (Hunters, The Romanoffs), Mackenyu (What a Trip, Pacific Rim: Uprising), Jacob Gibson, Taz Skylar (Two Neighbors, Cleaner), Vincent Regan (House of the Dragon, 300), and Morgan Davies (The Hunter, Evil Dead Rise).
Oda executive produces with writer and showrunner Matt Owens (Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and Steven Maeda (Salvation, Lost), Marty Adelstein (Snowpiercer, The Experiment), Becky Clements (The Better Sister, Physical), and Chris Symes (Black Sails, Eragon).
One Piece‘s second season, Into the Grand Line, will premiere on March 10, 2026.
See the trailer below.