One Piece released new art of the series' latest character.
The new image was revealed by the series' official Twitter account and provides a look at a young Uta, the new character who was recently revealed to be the estranged daughter of the Red-Haired Shanks, the powerful pirate captain who gave Luffy the straw hat that he always wears and inspired the young hero to take up a pirate's life. This younger version of the character was previously glimpsed in a trailer for the upcoming One Piece Film: Red, which will premiere in Japan on Aug. 6. The movie sees the Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirate crew traveling to a new island in order to attend a famous music festival. Uta, a singer, will be part of that festival and will play a key role in the events of the film.
In addition to the new characters, the One Piece Twitter has also been regularly releasing new art for the Straw Hat's new costumes. Keeping with the musically-focused theme of the new movie, Luffy and company's new outfits feature a mix of classic punk rock styling with traditional pirate gear.
Production on the new film is being supervised by the manga's original creator, Eiichiro Oda. According to Oda, the movie was inspired by his desire to add a new female character to the series' cast, as in his own words, he's "tired of drawing legendary old grandpas." The script for the new movie is being penned by Tsutomu Kuroiwa, who previously wrote One Piece Film: Gold. The new film is being directed by Code Geass' Goro Taniguchi. The anime series' voice cast will reprise their roles for the movie.
Red-Haired Shanks is also set to appear in Netflix's upcoming live-action One Piece series, which is currently filming in Cape Town, South Africa. Actor Peter Gadoit, who played Cyrus in ABC's Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, will portray the influential captain. While no official images of the cast in costume have yet to be revealed, some reportedly leaked photos from the set have emerged that appear to show a first look at the show's ships, including Shanks' flagship and the Straw Hat's beloved original sailing vessel, the Going Merry.
The One Piece manga is available in English from VIZ Media. The entire anime series is available for streaming on Crunchyroll, while select seasons and movies are also available on Netflix.