Why One Piece’s Rumored Chopper Casting Makes Me Super Hopeful They’ll Do The Character Justice In Live-Action

Why One Piece's Rumored Chopper Casting Makes Me Super Hopeful They'll Do The Character Justice In Live-Action

It’s been an exciting time for those eager to see Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 hitting the upcoming Netflix TV schedule. Fresh off the heels of learning the actors playing key roles like Dr. Kureha, as well as the arcs being covered in upcoming episodes, we now have rumored casting news for the next Straw Hat to join Luffy’s crew, Tony Tony Chopper. While the report is unconfirmed, I’m rooting for its veracity, as it points to what I hope the live-action series is doing with the character.

It seems quite clear that the arrival of Chopper in Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 is eagerly awaited by many viewers, perhaps even more than Nico Robin. The excitement stems from some apprehensions about how the half-Reindeer, half-human character will be portrayed without falling short of expectations. However, we might get a clue about how this could pan out based on these rumors.

Why One Piece's Rumored Chopper Casting Makes Me Super Hopeful They'll Do The Character Justice In Live-Action

Gavin Gomes Has Allegedly Been Cast As “Heavy Point Chopper”

In a Discord community of One Piece Live Action fans, there’s speculation that stunt actor Gavin Gomes might be taking on the role of “Heavy Point Chopper” in Season 2 (as suggested by @OP_Netflix_Fan). The intriguing twist is that Gomes previously mentioned the series and character on his CV, but later retracted this information. If accurate, such a move could potentially stir reactions within the show’s fanbase.

For those not aware of what Heavy Point means, it’s one of the forms Chopper can take thanks to his Human-Human Fruit. The Heavy Point transformation essentially gives Chopper the appearance of a peak athletic bodybuilder, which makes him much more capable in a fight than he usually is in his standard humanoid form.

Casting An Adult Muscular Actor For “Buff Point” Has Me Optimistic One Piece Will Use Practical Effects To Create Chopper

If it’s true that this casting is not just for motion capture, then I’m hopeful that Netflix’s adaptation of One Piece might choose to use real-life effects instead of computer-generated imagery (CGI) to depict the character Chopper. Given the extensive screen time this character is expected to have in Season 2 and future seasons, I believe this could be an excellent choice.

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Why One Piece's Rumored Chopper Casting Makes Me Super Hopeful They'll Do The Character Justice In Live-Action

How will this work?

While One Piece Season 1 showed its SFX crew is capable of creating impressive visuals, it’s presumably not at all inexpensive to feature an animated CGI characters who are constantly on-screen and interacting with live-action beings. With this dude, one actor would presumably be used to represent the muscular body, and a more average-sized actor would play the character’s most common form.

In the anime series One Piece, Chopper seems to be depicted as younger than his alleged age of 15 when he joins the Straw Hat Pirates. If I didn’t check the details, I would have thought he was around 9-12 years old. Given that a child plays a significant role in the series, it could potentially pose challenges for the cast and crew. However, if Netflix decides to portray Chopper as an older teenager instead, I wouldn’t mind this change. But keep in mind, this is just speculation, as Netflix’s casting strategy for Chopper isn’t confirmed yet.

As I said before, Gavin Gomes may have been brought in for motion-capture filming that would later be filled with digital animation. Until we get official word from those involved with the show, we’ll have to continue to wait and speculate.

Season 1 of the live-action One Piece, along with a sizable chunk of the anime, are available to stream with a Netflix subscription. As someone who is a big fan of both iterations, I’m watching the current Egghead anime arc while I wait for an official release date for Season 2, and it’s so great!

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2024-08-26 02:37