One Piece Director Reveals The Toughest Challenge During Filming, And Boy It’s Relatable
The toughest bit about the project was actually its massive scale.
Directing a live-action adaptation of an iconic anime series like One Piece is no small feat. Emma Sullivan, the director of two episodes of the approaching Netflix show, shared what was the most daunting challenge she faced.
Imagine getting a call to direct episodes for a show based on one of the most iconic anime series ever. Sounds thrilling, but in an interview with Screen Rant, Emma Sullivan revealed that she wasn't a One Piece aficionado to start with.
It was her son and nephews who clued her in on how big of a deal this was. She knew she couldn't mess it up, not just for her family but for the millions of fans worldwide.
One Piece has a massive universe with intricate lore. Catching up with it was a Herculean task. Emma had the support of creators Matt Owens and Steve Maeda, who are big One Piece fans themselves.
However, the trickiest part didn't turn out to be the One Piece lore itself. In an interview with Looper, Sullivan unveiled what did.
“Sometimes, the hardest bit was coming back to reality afterwards, because you're living in this amazing world, with lovely actors and amazing crews,” she said.
Emma has some background dealing with big TV shows like Doctor Who, but tackling One Piece was on another level. They shot the series in Cape Town, South Africa, with life-sized ships and ginormous sets. The scale was enormous, but so was the weight of responsibility towards the fans and Eiichiro Oda (the creator behind One Piece).
Emma and her team had some creative freedom, but everything had to be approved by Oda. She even had to reshoot a scene because Oda wanted it a certain way. That just goes to show how seriously they took staying true to the original and nailing every little detail.
Looks like the live-action adaptation took a more serious tone in comparison to its humorous source material. Sullivan says they tried to maintain a balance, incorporating humor where they could.
Good news for One Piece fans — you won't need to hold your horses for much longer. All eight episodes of One Piece are set to drop on Netflix on August 31st.
Sources: Screen Rant, Looper