“This Isn’t What I Signed Up To Do”: Eiichiro Oda Initially Rejected Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Script

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda rejected an early version of Netflix’s live-action adaptation after the streaming platform demanded significant budget cuts and reduced the first season from 10 episodes to eight, according to former showrunner Steve Maeda.

Speaking on the Trash Taste podcast, Maeda revealed that the production team had to rework the season after a new Netflix executive requested a version that would cost substantially less to produce.

The changes reportedly pushed the series further away from the original manga’s storytelling, prompting Oda to intervene and tell Netflix that the revised version was not what he had agreed to.

“[Oda] did not like it and told them so and said, ‘This is not what I signed up to do,’” Maeda recalled.

Steve Maeda Reveals The Lengthy One Piece Writing Process:

Even before the new executive took over, the writing process took around two years, partly because the team had to develop three different versions of the season before arriving at the version that ultimately aired.

The initial plan called for a 10-episode season. However, Maeda said the production team had little clarity about the available budget while developing the first set of scripts.

“We’re just like, ‘All right, we’re going to write the best eight, you know, 10 episodes we can,’” he said, describing the initial approach.

After the team completed that version, a new Netflix executive reviewed the scripts and requested substantial changes. The executive wanted the production budget cut in half and the season reduced from 10 episodes to eight, requiring the writers to restructure the story around the new limitations.

Maeda warned that the proposed cuts could disappoint fans because the team would no longer be able to deliver some of the elements it had initially been led to expect. Nevertheless, the writers attempted to accommodate the demands and developed a new eight-episode version.

Although Maeda believed the revised scripts could potentially work as a television season, he was concerned about how far the adaptation had moved away from the manga’s storytelling.

“I thought it was a very potentially good first season of television, but it was really getting farther and farther away from the One Piece storytelling,” he explained.

The showrunner also feared that the series could be canceled, stating, “I was very worried that at that point they were going to pull the plug.“

Oda’s intervention ultimately prompted the platform to reconsider its approach.

Maeda credited the platform for being willing to revisit its decision rather than proceeding with the cost-cutting measures.

He also emphasized the importance of securing the original creator’s approval when adapting an existing property. He noted that creators who publicly express dislike for adaptations can be particularly damaging, since the production team’s goal is to do justice to both the source material and its audience.

“The reason you take a job like this is you want to do right by them and the audience,” Maeda said.

Netflix’s One Piece live-action series premiered in August 2023, with Iñaki Godoy starring as Monkey D. Luffy.

Netflix renewed the series for a second season just two weeks after the series premiered. Although the scripts were completed by September 2023, production was delayed by the SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming for the season, titled Into the Grand Line, eventually took place between June and December 2024, with the season premiering on March 10, 2026.

A third season was announced in August 2025, with production beginning in November that year, ahead of the second season’s release. Titled The Battle of Alabasta, the third season is expected to premiere in 2027.