![One Piece Season 3 The Battle of Alabasta, showing the Straw Hat crew in Alabasta]](https://netserieszone.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/r-One-Piece-Season-3-The-Battle-of-Alabasta-showing-the-Straw-Hat-crew-in-Alabasta.png)
The announcements for One Piece season 3 have been coming in waves. Xolo Maridueña as Ace dropped first. Then Cole Escola as Bon Clay. Then the Netflix Tudum page went live on April 7, 2026, and fans immediately realized that no single source had the complete picture. This is the source.
Below is every confirmed actor for One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta, organized by category: returning Straw Hats, series regular upgrades, returning supporting cast, and new season 3 additions. Character names are included for every entry.
This guide covers the confirmed cast as of April 8, 2026. It does not speculate on unannounced roles or characters not yet cast.
What is the full cast of One Piece Season 3: The Battle of Alabasta?
One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta is Netflix’s third season of its live-action adaptation, premiering in 2027. The confirmed cast includes all five core Straw Hats led by Iñaki Godoy as Luffy, plus returning and upgraded supporting players, and four officially announced new additions, including Xolo Maridueña as Portgas D. Ace and Cole Escola as Bon Clay. According to Netflix’s official Tudum announcement, four returning cast members have been elevated to series regulars for this season.
One Piece Season 3: The Straw Hat Crew All Five Are Back
Every core crew member returns. No cast shake-ups here.
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Iñaki Godoy | Monkey D. Luffy |
| Mackenyu | Roronoa Zoro |
| Emily Rudd | Nami |
| Jacob Romero Gibson | Usopp |
| Taz Skylar | Sanji |
| Mikaela Hoover | Tony Tony Chopper (voice) ⬆ Series Regular |
Mikaela Hoover’s upgrade to series regular is significant. Chopper’s role in the Alabasta arc expands considerably compared to his brief Drum Island introduction in Season 2, so the bump makes sense both creatively and contractually.
One Piece Season 3 Series Regular Upgrades Four Cast Members Promoted
This is the detail most articles have buried or skipped entirely.
According to Netflix’s official announcement, four actors who appeared in Season 2 have been upped to series regulars for One Piece Season 3:
- Joe Manganiello — Crocodile / Mr. 0 (primary antagonist)
- Lera Abova — Nico Robin / Miss All Sunday
- Sendhil Ramamurthy — King Nefertari Cobra
- Mikaela Hoover — Tony Tony Chopper
Manganiello’s promotion was expected. He had a brief, high-impact reveal at the end of Season 2, and Crocodile is the central villain of the entire Alabasta arc. The other three upgrades signal that Alabasta’s royal politics and Baroque Works hierarchy will be given real narrative weight, not just a backdrop.
Returning Supporting Cast
These actors appeared in Season 2 and carry over into Season 3.
| Actor | Character | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Charithra Chandran | Princess Vivi (Nefertari Vivi) | Returning |
| Callum Kerr | Smoker | Returning |
| Julia Rehwald | Tashigi | Returning |
| Yonda Thomas | Igaram | Returning |
Quick note: Callum Kerr’s Smoker and Julia Rehwald’s Tashigi both debuted in Season 2 as Marines pursuing the Straw Hats. Their continued presence in Alabasta tracks closely with the source material, where the two Marine officers become unexpectedly entangled in the civil war.
New Season 3 Cast Additions — Officially Confirmed
Four new cast members have been formally announced by Netflix as of the April 7, 2026, title reveal.
Xolo Maridueña as Portgas D. Ace
Best known as Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai and the title hero in Blue Beetle, Maridueña steps into arguably the most emotionally loaded new role of the season. Ace is Luffy’s older brother — their reunion in Alabasta is a fan-favorite moment — and Maridueña’s energy and physicality make him a genuinely exciting choice. This one’s going to land.
Cole Escola as Bon Clay (Mr. 2)
The Tony Award-winning star of Broadway’s Oh, Mary! plays Bon Clay, a theatrical, ballet-fighting Baroque Works agent with a Devil Fruit that lets him copy anyone’s appearance. It’s one of the most flamboyant characters in all of One Piece. Escola’s casting is either inspired or perfect — probably both.
Awdo Awdo as Mr. 1 (Daz Bonez)
A rising actor whose previous credits include Subversion, Awdo Awdo plays the steel-bodied assassin Mr. 1. The role is largely physical: Mr. 1 can transform his limbs into blades, making him one of the arc’s most formidable one-on-one threats.
Daisy Head as Miss Doublefinger
Head (Shadow and Bone, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) joins as the spike-projecting Baroque Works agent Miss Doublefinger. Her confirmed presence in Cape Town during active filming was reported by What’s on Netflix in November 2025.
Season 2 Carryovers Confirmed for Season 3
David Dastmalchian introduced Mr. 3 in Season 2 — his Candle-Candle Devil Fruit power and deeply weird energy were highlights of that season — and he’s confirmed to appear in Season 3 as well. IMDb lists him across multiple 2026 episodes, and his character has direct plot relevance in the Alabasta arc that hasn’t been addressed yet in the show.
Or maybe I should say it this way: Mr. 3 isn’t just a cameo. His arc isn’t finished.
I’ve seen some conflicting info on whether Sophia Anne Caruso’s Miss Goldenweek returns for Season 3; some sources suggest yes based on IMDb listings, others are silent on it. My read is she’s a background possibility but not yet confirmed by Netflix or Tomorrow Studios directly. Treat that one as unverified for now.
Quick Comparison: New Season 3 Characters by Role Type
| Character | Actor | Role in Alabasta Arc | Devil Fruit? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portgas D. Ace | Xolo Maridueña | Luffy’s brother, brief ally | Yes: Flame-Flame Fruit |
| Bon Clay / Mr. 2 | Cole Escola | Baroque Works agent, Luffy’s unlikely friend | Yes : Flame-Flame Fruit |
| Mr. 1 | Awdo Awdo | Baroque Works assassin, fights Zoro | Yes: Dice-Dice Fruit |
| Miss Doublefinger | Daisy Head | Luffy’s brother, a brief ally | Yes : Dice-Dice Fruit |
Every major new addition is a Devil Fruit user. That’s not a coincidence — it tells you exactly how ambitious the Season 3 action sequences are going to be, and why post-production is expected to run through late 2026 or early 2027.
[INTERNAL LINK: What is a Devil Fruit in One Piece? → anchor: “Devil Fruit powers explained”]
Why Season 3 Has the Biggest Cast Yet
One Piece Season 2 debuted at #1 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 on March 10, 2026, and held that position for three consecutive weeks, accumulating 33.8 million views according to reporting by The Hollywood Reporter. A 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a debut theatrical screening across 200+ cinemas in the US, Canada, and Japan gave Netflix every reason to invest harder in Season 3.
The result: a bigger cast, four series regular promotions, and a per-episode budget reportedly averaging $18 million. Look — if you were wondering whether Netflix is treating this as a tentpole or just another genre show, those numbers answer the question.
The Alabasta arc is the first major war story in Eiichiro Oda’s manga. Bringing it to the screen requires more characters, more locations, more simultaneous fights. The expanded cast reflects that scope directly.
[EXTERNAL LINK: Netflix Tudum official Season 3 announcement → confirms cast list and series regular upgrades]
What Most Guides Skip: The Showrunner Change
Most cast roundups don’t mention this, but it matters: Matt Owens departed the series in March 2025 after co-showrunning Seasons 1 and 2. Ian Stokes joins returning co-showrunner Joe Tracz for Season 3. Both Stokes and Tracz are credited as writers and executive producers. The creative continuity is intact, but the voice in the writer’s room has shifted, worth knowing as you consider how the Alabasta arc’s tone might differ from what came before.
Some fans argue the showrunner swap is a risk. That’s valid for a series still finding its identity. But Tracz has been present since Season 1, and Stokes comes in with fresh eyes on an arc that Tracz describes as “why we split the story over two seasons.” The creative investment reads as genuine.
Filming Details and What’s Still Coming
Production began in Cape Town, South Africa, on November 25, 2025, and is scheduled to wrap by June 19, 2026. Netflix has confirmed a 2027 release window, with industry estimates pointing to mid-to-late 2027 based on the extensive VFX pipeline required for desert battle sequences and Logia Devil Fruit powers.
More cast announcements are expected before filming wraps. The Alabasta arc in the original manga and anime contains several Baroque Works agents not yet cast, and at least one major character — Karoo, Princess Vivi’s loyal Super Spot-Billed Duck — hasn’t been addressed publicly. We’ll update this page as confirmations come in.
AEO / Voice Search Q&A
Q: Who plays Ace in One Piece Season 3? A: Xolo Maridueña, known for Cobra Kai and Blue Beetle, plays Portgas D. Ace in One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta. Netflix confirmed the casting in 2025.
Q: Is Joe Manganiello returning for One Piece Season 3? A: Yes. Joe Manganiello returns as Crocodile (Mr. 0) and has been upgraded to a series regular for Season 3, making him the primary antagonist of the season.
Q: Who plays Bon Clay in the One Piece live-action series? A: Cole Escola, Tony Award-winning star of Broadway’s Oh, Mary!, plays Bon Clay (Mr. 2) in Season 3.
Q: When does One Piece Season 3 come out on Netflix? A: Netflix has confirmed a 2027 release. No exact date has been set. Production is filming in Cape Town through approximately June 2026, with a lengthy post-production period to follow.
Q: How many new cast members are in One Piece Season 3? A: As of April 2026, four new cast members have been officially confirmed: Xolo Maridueña (Ace), Cole Escola (Bon Clay), Awdo Awdo (Mr. 1), and Daisy Head (Miss Doublefinger). More announcements are expected before filming wraps.
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