When the tales of the Grand Line are told around campfires, one pirate ship springs to mind for fans of One Piece. The Going Merry, the sea-worthy vessel of the Straw Hats crew and its captain, Monkey D. Luffy. Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the beloved anime has brought fans onto the deck of the Going Merry, and with a new season will come new characters and new vessels. Netflix’s Geeked Week unveiled a ton of new information about the series, and even more information has come to light regarding a new pirate crew.
When One Piece returns for a second season, hopefully sometime in the near future, the Going Merry won’t be the only ship sailing across the Grand Line. The new set image shows the live action depiction of the Rumbar pirates’ ship. The second season of the anime adaptation is currently being filmed in South Africa, and the set image captures the ship seemingly docked in a port. Impressively, for those who are familiar with the source material, Netflix’s take on the ship of the Rumbar pirates bears a striking resemblance to the vessel in the original mangaka.
Who Are the Rumbar Pirates?
The entirety of Netflix’s One Piece is based on the original mangaka by Eiichirô Oda, which has spanned an anime series chronicling well over 1000 episodes and counting. The Rumbar pirates are a product of Oda sensei’s imagination, and were not touched upon in the live-action first season. First captained by a character named York, the Rumbar pirates are a crew that sailed the Grand Line many years ago, and would ultimately replace York with Brook as the crew expanded, commandeering another ship.
In the source material, Luffy’s interaction with the story of the Rumbar pirates is a brief one and is narrated by Crocus during the Reverse Mountain arc as he tells the captain of the Straw Hats about his friend Laboon. The pirates’ unfulfilled promise to return the whale, Laboon, is captured in the manga as a brief flashback. However, the size and detail of Netflix’s new ship suggests that the tale of the Rumbar pirates will be slightly more in depth.
New Season, Deadlier Foes
Sailing into the Grand Line and leading the cast for One Piece Season 2 are the Straw Hats, Iñaki Godoy as Luffy, Mackenyu as Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji. The return of the show will equally mean the arrival of new foes for the Straw Hats and the Baroque Works organization will provide it. Led by Mr. 0, aka the “Desert King” Sir Crocodile, the Arabasta arc will unfurl like a mainsail for the Straw Hats. Luffy’s confrontation with the Crocodile might even have unforeseen pitfalls for the jovial pirate captain, according to Crocodile actor, Joe Manganiello.
“But what I found, he is this flip side of the coin from Luffy. Potentially, he represents this dark potential future for Luffy. If he’s affected or allows the trauma of defeat to infect him the way it was for me, and I think that there’s a part of Crocodile that wants everyone to suffer the way he did after Whitebeard, or with the disappointment of not becoming the King of the Pirates and letting that go. And of course, not trusting your friends.”
One Piece Season 2 is aiming for a 2025 release date. Check out the image above and stream the first season on Netflix.
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