Live-action One Piece showrunner Steven Maeda is revealing what he can about the mysterious smoking character from the ending of season 1.

The creator of Netflix’s live-action One Piece is opening up about the mysterious character revealed at the end of season 1. Dedicated to telling the story of the young pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), One Piece introduces many of the heroic pirates from Eiichiro Oda’s ongoing manga. The show focuses on adapting much of the first 100 chapters of the manga, but it is already laying the seeds for future seasons. At the end of season 1, it even introduces a mysterious smoking figure intent on burning holes in the images of pirates.

While live-action One Piece showrunner Steven Maeda cannot say much about the figure, he did speak to TVLine about the character’s introduction. Maeda says he hopes to use the mysterious figure to hint at future developments in One Piece season 2, should the show earn a renewal. With over 1,000 chapters of the manga, there is still a vast amount of story to be mined, and the smoker could play a role in the coming episodes. Check out his quote below:

I’m not allowed to say. But you could read into it what you want to read into it. I think it’s important to tee up a little bit moving forward, especially with a series like this where there’s a really strong plot drive. I would leave that to the audience to figure out.

Who Is One Piece’s Mysterious Smoker?

There is much to be revealed about the smoker, but he is likely a familiar character to viewers of the anime and manga readers. A member of the Marines with a grudge against pirates, including Luffy, he is likely the powerful Captain Smoker, a rough and dangerous threat. Unafraid of the Straw Hats — and especially unafraid to capture or kill them — Smoker represents a true danger to Luffy’s gang of pirates. They have already earned the ire of the government, and Smoker will lead the combined forces of the Marines against them.

To make Smoker even more formidable, he has one thing in common with Luffy in that he has also eaten the Devil Fruit. Smoker consumed the Moku Moku no Mi Fruit, which gives him the ability to control smoke, including transforming himself into smoke at will. In a fight against Luffy, who relies on simple strikes and Zoro’s swordsmanship, Captain Smoker will be able to avoid every attack, making him a nigh-impossible threat to the Straw Hats.

The live-action One Piece and the anime share many similarities, so the story of Captain Smoker could very well play out the same way that it does in the new adaptation. That said, there are some differences between the two shows, including Vice-Admiral Garp’s early involvement in the live-action show and the ongoing prominence of Buggy the Clown. It could very well be that the Netflix adaptation of One Piece may change Smoker’s story to make his role even more surprising for long-time readers and viewers, which Maeda’s comments seemingly indicate.

Src: screenrant.com