New poster art for One Piece Film: Red has been revealed.
The new image shows all ten members of the Straw Hat Pirate crew, including series protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, in the new costumes that they will wear in the movie, which blend elements of classic pirate gear with punk-rock inspired fashion. The top half of the poster depicts the charismatic sea captain Red-Haired Shanks and Uta, a brand new character who will make her debut in the movie and was previously revealed to be Shanks’ estranged daughter. The new poster was created to promote the movie’s IMAX screenings in Japan. The animated film will premiere in the region on Aug. 6. Crunchyroll will distribute the film internationally when it makes its way outside of Japan later this fall.
One Piece Film Red sees Luffy, Zoro, Nami and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirate crew traveling to a new island in order to attend a famous music festival. There they run into the popular singer Uta, whom Luffy has apparently known ever since they were both small children. Other reoccuring characters from the series, including the fan-favorite Trafalgar Law and several members of the Marines, will also appear in the new film.
Creator Eiichiro Oda is supervising production of the new movie. Oda previously joked that Film: Red was born from his desire to add a new female character to the series’ cast, stating “I am tired of drawing legendary old grandpas in movies! I want to draw a new little female character! That’s the character I want to make now! And that’s how it started.” The script for the new movie is being penned by Tsutomu Kuroiwa, who previously wrote One Piece Film: Gold. The new film is being directed by Code Geass‘ Goro Taniguchi, who directed the series’ first animated adaptation, One Piece – Take Down! The Pirate Ganzak.
That rarely seen animated short will be screened at the upcoming One Piece Day special event, which will mark the 25th anniversary of the series’ 1997 debut with two days of new announcements, interviews, musical performances and special screenings. The producers of the series are promising to have new info on every aspect of the franchise, including the manga, anime, and its upcoming video games. The event will be livestreamed around the globe in both Japanese and English on July 22 and 23.
In the 25 years since its debut, One Piece has become the best-selling manga of all time, with over half-a-billion copies in circulation worldwide. While the series remains incredibly popular, Oda recently announced that the series’ next saga will be its last. The manga is currently on a one-month hiatus and will begin its final act on July 25.
Source: Twitter