One Piece Director Emma Sullivan Reveals A Touching Easter Egg In The Live Action Series - Exclusive
The wait is over for "One Piece" fans who have been looking forward to the release of their favorite manga's live-action adaptation, which premieres as an eight-episode series on Netflix today.
Based on the wildly popular Japanese manga that has been in production since 1997 and have sold over 500 million copies worldwide, "One Piece" follows a young pirate named Luffy (played by Iñaki Godoy), who sets sail with his Straw Hat gang to find the mythical treasure known as the One Piece and be crowned the next King of the Pirates.
The new eight-part live-action series has four different directors, including Emma Sullivan, who has previously helmed episodes of "Doctor Who" and "Call the Midwife." Leading the charge on Episodes 3 and 4, Sullivan had a lot of resources at her disposal, including a talented cast and crew.
"It's the biggest show I've ever done, so it has massive scope and scale," Sullivan exclusively tells Looper. "We have enormous sets, we have ships, we have mansions — and that's fun, but it's a challenge. Sometimes, the hardest bit was coming back to reality afterwards, because you're living in this amazing world."
With that world comes 26 years of manga history and 106 volumes, leaving a lot of potential Easter eggs to pop up in a live-action series for eagle-eyed fans to discover. For Sullivan, there's on particular Easter egg that really stands out for her from the two episodes of "One Piece" she directed, which she revealed to Looper during an exclusive interview.
The One Piece art department snuck itself into a scene
For some fans, scoping out hidden Easter eggs in the live-action "One Piece" adaptation is surely a big part of the fun of watching the new Netflix series. According to Sullivan, they should look out for some interesting "Wanted" posters in Episode 3 when Luffy and the Straw Hats arrive in Syrup Village, as well as News Coo seagulls flying around.
Her favorite Easter egg can be found in Episode 4, when Luffy, Zoro, and Nami fight their way through Kaya's mansion. The series' art department "built these great big paintings of ships on the walls, and one of the paintings has the whole art department in it, in costume," says Sullivan. "In the background, as we track through Kaya's mansion and into the dining room, there's a big picture of all these people building ships, and that's our art department."
Think of it as an endearing tip of the hat to the talented team that helped bring "One Piece" to life.
"One Piece" is a live-action pirate adventure created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Eiichiro Oda, Marty Adelstein, and Becky Clements also executive produce. All eight episodes of the series are available now on Netflix.