One Piece showrunner Matt Owens teases Captain Smoker’s role in season 2 of the live-action adaptation, and why he was teased at the end of season 1.

One Piece showrunner Matt Owens revealed the importance of Captain Smoker in season 2, as well as why his appearance was teased at the end of season 1. In the final moments of season 1, an obscured Smoker was seen looking at a Wanted poster featuring Luffy. This indicates the next stop for the Straw Hats will be Loguetown, where Smoker is first introduced in the original manga.

Speaking with Deadline, Owens teased Smoker’s role in One Piece season 2, alongside why he was featured at the end of season 1. The showrunner illustrates the importance of hinting at him early, given the important role he’ll play moving forward. Check out what Owens had to say below:

[Smoker] is very popular character who reappears throughout the manga at various times. He’s someone that I thought people would be excited to tease him, knowing what is coming with him. And it seems to have gotten over well.

I love that kind of stuff; I love a tag that can give you a nice tease for people who might be new to adaptation, and for fans, for people who know, it’s like a rabid excitement. They know who that is, they know what that means, they are excited to see him and to start to question how we’re going to play this character and how we’re going to unfold his role moving forward.

Captain Smoker’s One Piece Season 2 Role Explained

As teased during One Piece season 1’s ending, Smoker will be the next villain Luffy and the Straw Hats will have to face on their way to the Grand Line. In the manga, Smoker is a Marine operating out of Loguetown to ensure no other pirates can cross from the East Blue into the Grand Line. Following the events of the Loguetown Arc, Smoker becomes one of several people to pursue the Straw Hats on their Grand Line journey.

The introduction of Smoker in season 2 underscores how the season will be focused on finishing the East Blue Saga before jumping into the Arabasta Saga. While Smoker doesn’t appear for most of the Arabasta Saga, he has a prominent role to play in its final arc. Since the live-action version has made changes like Garp pursuing Luffy earlier than in the manga, it’s possible Smoker will become a more prominent figure in the upcoming Saga.

Smoker is a prominent One Piece character due to how persistent he is in pursuing the Straw Hat Pirates. While his most prominent time in the manga is during the Arabasta Saga, his presence will be the beginning of the live-action series exploring a world beyond East Blue. Because of this, Smoker will no doubt be a highly memorable character when he makes his full debut in season 2.

Source: Deadline