The live-action One Piece was among the best shows on Netflix to arrive in 2023, drawing a lot of positive critical reception and amassing hundreds of millions of viewing hours on the platform. By mid-September, a few weeks after Season 1 debuted, Netflix renewed One Piece for Season 2, though fans are still awaiting news on actors who will be coming aboard for the sophomore outing. That said, two of the show’s lead actors want Danny Devito to guest star in Season 2, and two roles from the original anime/manga come to mind that I think he’d be great to play.
While attending the world premiere of fellow Netflix show Avatar: The Last Airbender (Netflix subscribers can stream that starting on Thursday, February 22), Iñaki Godoy and Jacob Romero Gibson, who respectively play Monkey D. Luffy and Usopp in One Piece, spent some time chatting with Deadline. The actors were asked who their dream special guest star for Season 2 would be, and they enthusiastically responded:
“Iñaki Godoy: Oh my God, Danny DeVito! If you’re seeing this right now, come to the show!
Jacob Romero: We’ve been thinking about Danny DeVito since Season 1. We would love to find a way to put Danny DeVito in One Piece somehow.”
Neither Godoy nor Romero could think of a specific character Danny DeVito would play in One Piece, they just want him to sign on and play “anyone you want.” Not to worry, boys, I have you covered. One of the things we know about One Piece Season 2 is that Tony Tony Chopper, the human-reindeer hybrid who becomes the Straw Hat Pirates’ doctor, will be featured. That means Netflix’s One Piece will adapting the Drum Island arc that introduced Chopper, and as such, I think DeVito would be an excellent fit for Wapol, the arc’s main antagonist.
Originally the monarch of the Drum Kingdom, where Chopper hails from, the selfish and tyrannical Wapol fled from Drum Island with his most loyal subjects when the Blackbeard Pirates invaded Drum Island, leaving the rest of the kingdom’s inhabitants to fend for themselves. Years later, he finally returned to the Drum Kingdom to reclaim his throne, but this coincided with the arrival of Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Prior to leaving Drum Island, Wapol banished all of the country’s doctors with the exception of the 20 who served him. The only doctors who managed to avoid being exiled were Hiriluk and Kureha, both of whom are instrumental to Chopper’s origins. As a result of eating the Munch-Munch Fruit, Wapol is able to greatly expand his mouth, eat practically anything and replicate the characteristics of anything he’s eaten within the past 24 hours.
Between Danny DeVito’s short stature and his previous experience playing villains, I can’t think of a better big-name actor who would excel at playing Wapol. Also, it would only require him committing to a few episodes rather than the entire season, since it’s unlikely One Piece Season 2 will be entirely dedicated to adapting the Drum Island arc. So fingers crossed that someone from the show’s team approaches DeVito for the role and he agrees to take it on.
Still, even if a Danny DeVito appearance isn’t in the cards, there’s still a chance One Piece Season 2 could boast a major Hollywood talent. As a member of the One Piece fanbase, Jamie Lee Curtis said last year that she would “lobby” to play Dr. Kureha, and showrunner Matt Owens said he and his team were “trying to manifest” this casting. One Piece is already popular, but if both Curtis and DeVito are cast in these roles, I don’t doubt their involvement would help draw even more viewers in.
If either of these castings are announced, we hear at CinemaBlend will let you know. For now, remember that Netflix also boasts a decent chunk of the One Piece anime in its catalog, and the streamer will also be home to a remake of the anime called The One Piece.
