When will the third season of One Piece be released: release date, what will it be about

Netflix has announced the launch of the third season of the adventure series One Piece. The new season has received an official name — One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta — and will be released on the platform in 2027. What awaits viewers in the third season, how the second was met, and why this franchise has become the main TV series phenomenon of the streaming decade — in the Izvestia article.

The best-selling manga in history

One Piece is a pirate saga by Japanese mangaka Eiichiro Oda, which has been published since 1997 and remains the best—selling manga in history to this day. The total circulation of the series has exceeded 500 million copies worldwide. The plot follows Monkey D. Luffy— a young pirate who dreams of finding the legendary treasure of One Piece and becoming the Pirate King.

It seemed almost impossible to transfer this universe to the screen in the format of a feature film: the original story was too overloaded with details, too animated in spirit. When Netflix announced the adaptation, manga and anime fans greeted the news with little enthusiasm — by that time, the industry had accumulated enough failed attempts to convert Japanese animation into a game format.

Season One: A Triumph in spite of the skeptics

The debut season was released on Netflix in August 2023 and held the top spot on the global top platform for eight weeks in a row, reaching 18.5 million views and 140.1 million hours of viewing. The first season earned an 86% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator among critics and 95% among viewers, a rare combination for an adaptation of a cult franchise.

Oda himself played a key role in the success: the mangaka acted as a consultant to the project and personally ensured that the living embodiment of his characters corresponded to the original. According to Primetimer, Oda personally came to the set in South Africa, and when he saw something he didn't like, the production team reshot the scene until he fully approved.

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The second season of One Piece

The second season, subtitled Into the Grand Line, was released on Netflix on March 10, 2026 — almost three years after the premiere of the first. The delay was partly explained by the strikes of the Screenwriters Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild in 2023, which significantly shifted production schedules throughout the industry.

The new episodes covered several iconic arcs of the original manga—Logtown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island—and also introduced Tony Chopper, a fan favorite. Princess Vivian (Charitra Chandran) She became a key figure connecting the second season with the third: it is her fate that determines the direction of the next journey of the team of heroes.

The second season debuted on the first line of the world top Netflix and scored 33.8 million views in three weeks of the show. The first two episodes of the season were shown on big screens — special screenings were held in more than 200 cinemas in Canada, the USA and Japan on the day of the premiere.

What the critics say

The second season of One Piece did something that sequels rarely do: it not only kept the bar of the first, but also surpassed it. On the Rotten Tomatoes aggregator, the season scored 100% among critics and 96% among viewers, while the debut received 86% and 95%, respectively. The reviewers agreed that the series offers higher stakes and more extensive coverage, while remaining an almost flawless film adaptation.

Collider critic David Caballero gave the season a nine out of ten, calling it "the best adaptation on television right now." Digital Spy described the viewing as "relaxing for the soul."

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GamesRadar wrote that One Piece embodies the endless optimism of its pirate team: the second season turned out to be stronger and more confident in every aspect — exactly the adaptation that loyal fans have long deserved. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes unanimously recognized it as "the best Netflix original series of all time" and "an exemplary example of transferring senen manga to a feature film."

What will the third season be about?

The official title of the third season is One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta. The plot centers on Alabasta, a desert kingdom with rich culture and spectacular architecture, on the verge of civil war.

Inaki Godoy's Luffy and his team must stop the war and save Princess Vivian's kingdom before it crumbles into the sand. The Alabasta Arc is considered the first truly large-scale military conflict in manga and at one time turned One Piece from a popular senen into a global phenomenon. Among the new cast is Xolo Maridueña, who will play the role of Portgas D. Ace, Luffy's older brother.

Filming for the third season began in November 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. According to What's on Netflix, production is expected to be completed in August 2026; the extended postproduction is due to large-scale visual effects requirements. Taking into account the earlier start of production, the pause between the second and third seasons will be about a year and a half — a year less than the audience expected between the first and second.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.