Jame Lee Curtis appears all but confirmed to play Doctor Kureha in One Piece Season 2 on Netflix as co-showrunner Matt Owens has said the team is writing with her in mind.
Speaking to Deadline, Owens commented on the ongoing back and forth between Curtis and the One Piece team, with both sides sharing their absolute interest in working with each other. While the actors' strike is postponing any official conversations, Owens said "at this point we're writing [the character] for her".
Curtis emerged as a One Piece fan so the Netflix team sent her a figurine of upcoming character Doctor Kureha, who's a cooky 139-year-old woman who plays a big role in the manga chapters on which Season 2 will be set. The Oscar-winning actress then posted on Instagram saying, once the strike is over: "I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha in One Piece."
Owens suggested this was perfect timing. "We have opportunities to stunt cast some roles, some roles that are very important, and it came out that Jamie Lee Curtis is a One Piece fan," he said. "As soon as she said that, we were like, okay, we have to try and get her on the show. What can we do? And Doctor Kureha, very luckily, is a character who is coming up in our story, and is someone who is perfect for Jamie Lee Curtis."
He continued: "SAG is still striking so there have not been real conversations. But as soon as there can be, I’m ready. I will take her out to dinner, we’ll talk about it. We’ll do all of it because at this point we’re writing for her — we really, really want her to come and play with us in Season 2."
One Piece premiered August 31 and was quickly renewed for Season 2, with the CEO of production company Tomorrow Studios Marty Adelstein saying it can be ready within 18 months of the actors' strike ending.
Fans have debated how reindeer-human hybrid Tony Tony Chopper will work in live action, and creator, writer, and co-showrunner Steven Maeda told IGN it would certainly be a challenge. In a wider conversation around Season 1 and beyond, Maeda also addressed a major fan theory regarding another upcoming character.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
