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Sep 02, 2023

One Piece live

It's time to explore the Grand Line. The live-action adaptation of One Piece is finally here, and the show's director Mark Jobst has revealed how they achieved a realistic depiction of Luffy's powers.

It's time to explore the Grand Line.

The live-action adaptation of One Piece is finally here, and the show's director Mark Jobst has revealed how they achieved a realistic depiction of Luffy's powers.

Based on the wildly popular manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece tells the story of Monkey D Luffy, played by Iñaki Godoy, who receives powers that give his body rubber-like qualities after eating a Devil Fruit.

As the eagerly-anticipated live-action adaptation of the show reaches Netflix, Mark has taken fans behind the scenes as he shares insight into how the crew achieved the "organic" look of Luffy's rubber powers.

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Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, he said: "One of the things that we did in casting is – we were very, very clear that we wanted to cast actors who could act and do all these emotional scenes.

"But as importantly – and very unusually in shows – we're very physical and athletic.

"Because of the way that I wanted to shoot some of the special skills, and because of the way I wanted to shoot the action, I needed them to be at the centre of the heart of all these stunt sequences and these special effect sequences."

Mark went on to describe the intensive rehearsal schedule Iñaki underwent to be able to achieve something close to Luffy's abilities – particularly in a fight scene with Alvida.

"So with Iñaki, we did a lot of gym work. We did a lot of acrobatic work," he continued.

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"We would rehearse in the morning, me and the cast, and we would play games, and we would laugh, and we would eat, and we would humiliate ourselves in front of each other [laughs].

"And we did a bit of community work so that, you know, we were giving back to the community in South Africa, and would bond the family together."

Mark said that Iñaki was tasked with learning a number of different moves as part of his training programme, to give his body "a kind of fluidity".

He added: "And then in the afternoon, they would go into the dojo, into the gym, and would work with the stuntmen and the stunt coordinators – each of them individually, with their different skills.

"You know, Nami with her bow staff, Sanji with his… fighting with his feet. I wanted that to be very breakdance-based so that he was fighting with his feet, and spinning and turning, and doing all that kind of stuff.

"And Luffy with his bendy skills. So [Iñaki] was learning how to do backflips and frontflips and forward rolls, and all those things that enabled us to give his body a kind of fluidity, which would then enable those big, stretching things to feel much more organic to him."

Along with his crew of Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy searches the seven seas for treasure previously held by the late pirate Gol D Roger in the series.

The treasure, known as the One Piece, gives its holder the title of Pirate King.

One Piece is available to stream now on Netflix.

Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy

Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specialises in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more.

Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club.

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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.

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