Netflix's One Piece Is Ending An Era In Season 3

Published Oct 9, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

While season 3 of Netflix’s live-action One Piece is hotly anticipated, the upcoming outing will spell the end of an era for the series. Some Netflix hits, like the nostalgic small-town mystery/sci-fi series Stranger Things, blend together existing influences to create something new. Others, like the Addams Family spinoff Wednesday, are directly inspired by specific canon texts, but put their own unique spin on these familiar stories.

Others still, like the critically acclaimed East of Eden, take existing source material that was already beloved and put a fresh new spin on it. It’s in this third camp that Netflix’s One Piece fits. A live-action adaptation of the longest-running manga of all time, One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates in a show that mixes comedy, fantasy, action, and even some elements of horror.

This genre blend would always have been an ambitious undertaking for the streaming service as One Piece attempted to replicate the unique, singular tone of its source material. However, the show’s true challenge was the sheer amount of source material that its franchise produced. To give readers an idea of how massive the One Piece manga’s back catalog is, one should note that creator Eiichiro Oda set the Guinness world record for "most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author” some 11years ago, and the series is still ongoing.

One Piece Season 3 Ends The Live-Action Show's First Proper Era

Credit: Casey Crafford/Netflix

In a colossal story that makes the entire Mobile Suit Gundam franchise look like Firefly’s infamously short one-season run, there are 115 volumes of the One Piece manga itself, a 22-season animated series with over 1150 episodes, an upcoming Netflix animated series, over a dozen animated specials, over another dozen movies, more than 40 video games, and more one-shots, shorts, and even plays than anyone could count.

Thus, fans of the manga were understandably worried that One Piece might struggle to capture the sheer sprawling scope of the franchise’s fictional world. However, to the shock of many reviewers and viewers, Netflix’s One Piece proved a colossal critical hit and was soon singled out as one of the best live-action adaptations of a manga to date. Even more impressively, Netflix’s One Piece didn’t downsize the scale and scope of its source story.

With an astounding ensemble cast including Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Charithra Chandran, and guest stars like Joe Manganiello, One Piece seasons 1 and 2 managed to adapt the manga’s Alabasta Saga without straying too far from the source material. The manga’s massive story is split into large sections known as Sagas, each of which contains in them numerous smaller story arcs.

While the East Blue Saga is technically an arc of its own, it is mostly used to introduce the show’s main cast of characters and their goal, namely to uncover the legendary titular treasure. The East Blue Saga sets up the larger adventure story, and it truly is a large adventure, as the crew’s initial meeting leads seamlessly into the Alabasta Saga with the arrival of villains like Baroque Works and Crocodile.

Once the Straw Hat Pirates met Chandran’s Princess Nefertari Vivi in season 2, the mini-arcs that build up to the battle of Alabasta defined most of season 2’s action. Traveling locations like Reverse Mountain and Whiskey Peak ensured the crew went through plenty of perilous adventures throughout this era but, crucially, the Alabasta arc itself didn’t start in earnest. As if to reaffirm this, season 3 is literally subtitled “The Battle of Alabasta.”

What Will One Piece Season 4 & The Next Era Look Like?

While the playful, madcap One Piece is hardly HBO’s Game of Thrones, the Battle of Alabasta does introduce new levels of political intrigue and complexity into the show’s story. Monkey D. Luffy helps Vivi avoid a civil war in her desert kingdom of Alabasta in season 3’s upcoming story, as the aptly named villainous group Baroque Works prove to be formidable enemies to the Straw Hat Pirates crew.

Since the show’s source material has been around for so long and tells a surprisingly cohesive linear story despite its sheer length, viewers have a relatively good idea of what will come after the Battle of Alabasta in season 4. The Sky Island Saga follows the Alabasta Saga, beginning when the Straw Hat Pirates arrive in Mock Town. When the group modify their ship Going Merry to allow them to take to the skies, this sets in motion another epic conflct, this time between two winged tribes, the Shandia warriors and the Skypeians.

Much like Avatar 3: Fire & Ash took to the skies to expand its sci-fi fantasy setting, One Piece season 4 will likely spend most of its screen time airborne to keep things exciting and unpredictable. Of course, it will take a long time before this fourth outing arrives and, considering how many beloved cult classic shows Netflix has canceled early, viewers might reasonably be wondering whether this fourth outing will even make it to the screen at all.

Could One Piece End After Season 3?

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Since production has already wrapped on season 3 of One Piece, viewers can be sure that the show’s live-action take on the Battle of Alabasta will make it to screens intact. Netflix has not yet officially renewed the series for a fourth outing, so it is technically possible that One Piece could be canceled after its third season is released. However, the massive global success of seasons 1 and 2, combined with the series avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump in reviews, bodes well for its future.

The creators of Netflix’s live-action One Piece have openly discussed an elaborate six-season plan for the show, with an additional six seasons also sketched out if the series runs for long enough to adapt the entire original manga saga. Obviously, this is a pretty optimistic best-case scenario outcome, but it is worth noting that this doesn’t make it unlikely.

Wednesday season 3 is happening despite the show’s views and reviews dropping off with the arrival of season 2’s second half, partially because Netflix’s biggest shows remain heavy hitters even when their ratings and critical performances aren’t perfect. In contrast, One Piece has received much more consistent critical praise, making the show’s continued renewal even more secure. Nothing is certain in the world of streaming, but One Piece is as surefire a Netflix success story to bet on as the streaming service has ever produced.

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  Iñaki Godoy

  Monkey D. Luffy

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  Emily Rudd

  Nami