Ever since Netflix’s One Piece Live Action gained traction, there has been a general consensus among the fandom that creator of the manga, Eiichiro Oda, was deeply involved in the production process and even influenced the casting in the series.

Inaki Godoy’s recent interview with Teen Vogue, which was published on Aug 24, 2023, confirmed these speculations.

Speaking in the interview, Godoy revealed the reason why Oda chose him to portray the lead character of his epic manga series – he was able to make the author laugh during the auditions.

“I didn’t get to meet with Oda during the audition process. I did get to meet him later down the line, and I remember I asked him that question, like, ‘Why me? Why did you like me?’. And he said that I made him laugh in my audition,” Godoy said.

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This was something that was iterated by Oda himself in the past. His biggest fear about the Netflix’s One Piece live action adaptation in fact was being able to find the right Luffy. And when he saw Inaki during the auditions, Oda felt he was a perfect fit for the role.

“My biggest worry about the One Piece Live Action adaptation was whether we would be able to find someone like Luffy. I watched a lot of various auditions and when I found Iñaki, I laughed. He was just like the person I drew in my manga. I intuitively thought, ‘That’s Luffy’,” Oda’s comment read.

Godoy, while talking about the mental prep he had to do for the role, also added that he felt that he was a lot like Luffy growing up, because he had no worries in the world.

“I immediately knew who Luffy was in the Alvida fight. I was watching the anime, and it didn’t take me long to understand who this guy was. He sees a person who’s been mistreated, he doesn’t really know them, and yet he decided to help them. And when he does that he does it with a smile. He gets into fight and he’s smiling because he enjoys being a pirate,” Godoy said.

“I think growing up, I was a lot like Luffy in some ways. I had no worries in the world. Everything was so much fun. And I think Luffy is like that too,” he added.

When Godoy realized that he would be playing Monkey D. Luffy, he felt really really excited. But then it hit him that his life would be changed forever. And then he started feeling nervous, but not for long because just like Luffy, he once again became excited for the adventure that was in front of him.

One Piece live-action will release on Aug 31, 2023, exclusively on Netflix.

The One Piece live-action cast includes Iñaki Godoy, who portrays 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 portray a young Luffy.

Furthermore, Peter Gadiot will play Shanks, Morgan Davies as Koby, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino as Alvida, Aidan Scott as Helmeppo, Jeff Ward as Buggy, McKinley Belcher III as Arlong, and Vincent Regan as Garp.

The other cast members 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 will be returning to portray their characters for the Japanese dub of the live-action adaptation

The live-action will be adapting the East-Blue Saga from the One Piece manga and then “broaden from there”. Matt Owens will serve as the upcoming show’s writer, while Steven Maeda and Becky Clements will be executive producers along with Eiichiro Oda.

The soundtrack for the live action, titled “Wealth, Fame, Power,” is composed by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli, best known for their work on “The Witcher“.

Netflix will exclusively stream the series, produced by Tomorrow Studios, a partnership between producer Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios.

The live action adaptation was under production in South Africa since Feb 1, 2022.

Source: Youtube