One Piece: which volumes will be adapted in season 3?
A priori, the sequel should focus on the Alabasta arc, one of the fans’ favorites.
We’re diving back into the world of One Piece today on Netflix.
Season 2 has just been put online and season 3 is already happening. And we understand that she should focus on the Alabasta arc, one of the fan favorites.
Unlike the first two seasons, which each covered five arcs of the original manga, the third could therefore only adapt one arc.
There is no shortage of clues, starting with the title of the last episode of season 2, “The Cherry Trees of Hiluluk” (Deer and Loathing in Drum Kingdom) which refers to the Drum Island arc, where the friendly reindeer doctor Tony Tony Chopper appears. The next arc is of course Alabasta, as suggested by the images of the desert published on the official Instagram account announcing the production of season 3, which should also have eight episodes.
Filming actually began in November 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Going Merry troupe returns with Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji. Among the new recruits: Portgas D. Ace, Luffy’s older brother, played by Xolo Maridueña, as well as the assassin Bon Clay (Cole Escola), Miss Doublefinger (Daisy Head) and Mr. 1 (Awdo Awdo). Several characters already present in season 2 will also return: Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, Mikaela Hoover as Chopper, Joe Manganiello as Mr. 0, Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday and Sendhil Ramamurthy as Nefertari Cobra.
Better yet, four of them will become series regulars for season 3: Manganiello, Hoover, Abova and Ramamurthy. Since Mr. 0 and Nefertari Cobra are central to the Alabasta arc, this confirms that season 3 should logically stop at the end of this arc rather than attacking the next one, the Jaya arc.
Alabasta is one of the longest arcs in the manga, spanning approximately eight volumes – volumes 17 to 24 of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga – and 39 episodes in the anime. The first two seasons also covered eight volumes or 45 episodes of the cartoon, which makes the duration comparable.
Including the Jaya arc from season 3 would be complicated: the final battle in Alabasta constitutes an ideal climax, and ending the season with the release of the Straw Hats from the Desert Kingdom would allow a natural transition into season 4.
From a production and pacing perspective, it will be simpler if season 4 directly covers the Sky Island Saga (Jaya + Skypiea). If this saga is slightly longer (9 volumes or 50 episodes), it could perfectly fit in a single season.
The release date of One Piece season 3 on Netflix is not yet known. With a gap of more than two years between the first two seasons, an optimistic release would be late 2027.
