Rumors have been cropping up that award-winning actor Ian McShane will be involved in the upcoming One Piece live-action series. The English actor is best known for his television roles in shows like Deadwood and American Gods as well as his movie appearances in the John Wick franchise. He's even no stranger to the world of pirates, having previously portrayed Captain Blackbeard in 2011's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

In early August 2023, weeks before the One Piece live-action series debut, reports began circulating that Ian would provide voiceover for the show. According to a press statement from Netflix reported by Murphy's Multiverse, Ian McShane will provide narration for the series. However, these rumors have yet to be confirmed by Netflix or any other official source, so take this with a grain of salt.

Nevertheless, fans are already excited at the idea of Ian McShane having a role in the series. Many remember his previous role as Blackbeard as they compare his appearance there to One Piece's own version of the infamous pirate who appears in the manga as a major antagonist.

If rumors about Ian McShane are true, he'd be part of a cast that consists mostly of relatively fresh faces who make up the Straw Hat crew in the live-action series. Netflix's One Piece stars Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy as Luffy, Japanese-American actor Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji. Other popular characters like Shanks and Captain Buggy are also set to make appearances in the series.

Season 1 of the live-action adaptation of One Piece will begin streaming on Netflix on Aug. 31.