Steven Maeda, co-producer of the live action series One Piece Netflix’s, has decisively dashed any hopes fans may have had for a burgeoning romance between Zoro and Nami in the series.
The on-screen chemistry between Mackenyu and Emily Rudd, the actors who play Zoro and Nami in live-action One Piecehas left fans – especially those who haven’t seen the original film – looking forward to a potential romance between the two.
Their interactions, from boarding the ship to cooperating when trapped by Buggy and even some moments at Kaya’s mansion contributed to the journey on the Zoro x Nami ship.
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Mackenyu and Emily Rudd in live-action One Piece
However, in a recent interview with TVLine, Maeda revealed that the relationship between the two may not develop beyond friendship. And this decision is based on an ultimatum given by none other than manga creator Eiichiro Oda.
According to Maeda, Oda made the regulation “there is no romance between the cast members“. Because of this rule, he emphasized that there is little or no chance of Zoro x Nami happening in One Piece Live Action. Meaning, it was unlikely that the two of them would be romantically involved with each other.
“One of the requests from Eiichiro Oda was against romance among the crew,” Maeda said. “That’s impossible, for manga and live-action shows.”
Even so, the co-producer still acknowledged the chemistry between the two co-stars and added that viewers enjoyed it. are free to interpret it however they want.
“…they had great chemistry together. But that’s certainly not the goal. One of the fun things about watching television is what you read in it and what you take away when you watch a show,” Maeda said.
Steven Maeda
Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece begins streaming on the platform from August 31, 2023. Season 2 of the series has not yet been confirmed.
The cast includes Iñaki Godoy, who plays Monkey D. Luffy, Emily Rudd as Nami, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar will play Sanji. Colton Osorio will play the young Luffy.
Furthermore, Peter Gadiot will play Shanks, Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelanhs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, and Vincent Regan as Garp.
Other actors include:
Alexander Maniatis as Klahadore Steven Ward as Mihawk Craig Fairbrass as Chef Zeff Langley Kirkwood as Captain Morgan Celeste Loots as Kaya Chioma Umeala as Nojiko
It was previously revealed that the original Japanese voice actors would return to portray their characters for the Japanese dub of the live-action adaptation.
The live-action version will adapt the East-Blue Saga from the Manga One Piece series and “expand from there”. Matt Owens will serve as a writer for the upcoming show, while Steven Maeda and Becky Clements will be executive producer along with Eiichiro Oda.
The live-action soundtrack is titled “Wealth, Fame, Power” composed by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli, famous for their work “The Witcher“.
Netflix will exclusively stream the series produced by Tomorrow Studios, a collaboration between producer Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios.
The live action adaptation has been in production in South Africa since February 1, 2022.