One Piece showrunner teases Jamie Lee Curtis as a fan-favorite character in season 2
One Piece may have found one of its first cast additions for season 2 as co-showrunner Matt Owens has teased efforts to get Jamie Lee Curtis to appear.
Following its record-breaking release at the end of August, Netflix quickly renewed its live-action One Piece adaptation for a second season and since then speculation has been rife about which new characters will appear and who will be cast to play them. After months of hopeful fan castings, One Piece’s co-showrunner has teased efforts to cast an Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Jamie Lee Curtis in the series as Doctor Kureha.
One Piece co-showrunner teases Jamie Lee Curtis as Doctor Kureha
In an interview with Deadline published on October 4, One Piece’s co-showrunner Matt Owens discussed a number of details surrounding the show and its recently greenlit second season.
One point Owens touched upon was the potential of casting Oscar-winning superstar Jamie Lee Curtis in the series after learning that she is a fan of the anime and that fans have long been calling for her to star.
“We have opportunities to stunt cast some roles, some rules 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 added. “So we tried to start manifesting this dream of ours. After she won her Oscar, the writers’ room sent her a figure of Doctor Kureha with a nice note that said, “Congratulations on your statue, here’s another one to put next to it. Hope to speak to you soon.”
Jamie Lee Curtis interested in appearing in One Piece
Not only is there interest from One Piece’s creators, but Jamie Lee Curtis herself has expressed her desire to play Doctor Kureha in the live-action adaptation.
On September 22, Curtis – who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once earlier in 2023 – posted on Instagram to send One Piece fans into meltdown.
“Once the strike against the greed of the AMTPT is settled with a fair contract, I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha,” she said.
In the comments, Matt Owens replied, saying: “No need to lobby. Once we get what we deserve and get back to work let’s talk!”
Who is Doctor Kureha?
For fans who may not be aware of the character’s anime and manga origins, Doctor Kureha is an elderly doctor who lives and works on Drum Island with her adoptive son and student, Tony Tony Chopper.
Kureha’s skill as a doctor is unquestionable as she is a whopping 139 years old when she is first introduced in the One Piece anime.
However, despite her healing prowess, many refer to Doctor Kureha as a witch owing in part to her inexplicable age but also her eccentric and often violent forms of treatment.
These include deliberately prodding a painful area on a patient or having Tony Tony Chopper forcefully knock patients out instead of giving them traditional anesthetic.
In the anime’s Drum Island Arc, Doctor Kureha becomes an ally of the Straw Hat Pirates and Chopper ends up joining the crew on a permanent basis.
The live-action One Piece is available to stream on Netflix after releasing on August 31, 2023.
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