The promotion for the second season of Netflix’s adaptation of One Piece keeps on coming. Whether it’s via posters for the individual arcs that will be found in the upcoming season or first-look images featuring some exciting action shots, Netflix and Tomorrow Studios aren’t wasting any time getting people excited about the new episodes coming out in 2026. Now, the latest promotional material features a memorable set piece from the original manga created by Eiichiro Oda, teasing one of the villains that Luffy and his crew will be going up against in the “Little Garden” arc of the series.
As seen in the tweet below from the official One Piece Netflix account, fans now have their first look at the candle wax hideout created by the villain Gladino, who goes by the alias Mr. 3. He is set to be played by David Dastmalchian, though the character’s design has yet to be revealed. Dastmalchian is best known for his roles in movies like Late Night With the Devil, The Suicide Squad, and is also going to be in the upcoming Street Fighter adaptation. Mr. 3’s wax hideout plays a crucial role in the “Little Garden” arc, specifically in an episode reportedly titled “Wax On, Wax Off.” He is one of the first big members of the Baroque Works organization the Straw Hats go up against.
Mr. 3’s abilities come from the “wax-wax” devil fruit that the character ate, which allows him to create and control candle wax. While this may seem like a silly ability, it’s actually shown to be dangerous and deadly in the manga, as he can manipulate the wax into any shape he wants, switching between liquid and solid states. Moreover, the flame on his head makes him a self-proclaimed “candle man,” adding even more range to his already formidable powers.
Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Adaptation Remains Faithful to the Source Material
The latest image is further indication that the live-action adaptation of the One Piece manga is doubling down on the fantastical nature of Eiichiro Oda’s original work. Elements like giants, dinosaurs, and houses made of wax are just a common occurrence in the world of One Piece, and Netflix’s recreation of that world isn’t cutting any corners. This helps explain why the first season was such a success, receiving mostly positive reviews and even being called one of the better live-action anime adaptations, succeeding where other Netflix outings like Death Note and Cowboy Bebop failed.
With how much has been shown of the “Little Garden” arc up to this point, it will be exciting to see when they inevitably reveal the live-action design of Mr. 3, as portrayed by David Dastmalchian. The Baroque Works arc of the One Piece manga is the first large-scale and ambitious story that Oda aimed to tell with the manga, so there is a lot of pressure on the creative team behind the series to do it justice and bring these character-driven battles to life. From what has been shown in the first-look images released thus far, it’s clear that Netflix’s One Piece is already succeeding from an aesthetic standpoint.
Release Date
August 31, 2023
Network
Netflix
Showrunner
Matt Owens
Directors
Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka
Writers
Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand
Franchise(s)
One Piece
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Iñaki Godoy
Monkey D. Luffy
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