Fans of One Piece have been eagerly anticipating the casting of Ace, Luffy’s fire-powered brother, for the Netflix live-action series. Ace is a major character in the original story, providing crucial support to the Straw Hat Pirates and possessing a compelling backstory. As the show gets ready to launch its second season in March and begins production on a third season set in Alabasta, the role of Ace D. Portgas has finally been cast.
Fans have been eager to see Xolo Maridueña as Ace in the live-action One Piece series, and it’s now official! The Cobra Kai actor has been cast as Luffy’s brother. Maridueña has been gaining prominence in Hollywood recently, notably starring as Blue Beetle in the DCU and providing voice work for several animated shows like Sakamoto Days, Smurfs, Invincible, and The Boys Presents: Diabolical. This casting is exciting news for the highly anticipated One Piece adaptation, which has quickly become a global phenomenon.
Xolo Maridueña joins ONE PIECE as ACE!
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) November 5, 2025
One Piece’s Ace In The Hole
Netflix has officially announced that ONE PIECE will return for a third season! This time, Xolo Maridueña (known for Blue Beetle) will join the cast as Portgas D. Ace. Production is scheduled to resume later this year in Cape Town, South Africa. The series was quickly renewed for Season 3 back in August. Maridueña joins Cole Escola, the Tony Award winner from Oh, Mary!, who will play Bon Clay, a theatrical assassin, in the upcoming season.
Last year, Xolo talked about the rumors of him joining the cast of the Netflix series One Piece. He said it would be a dream come true, but he understands he’d still need to audition like everyone else, unless the showrunners specifically offered him the role without an audition.
The cast for the third season of the Alabasta arc is taking shape, with some major characters already confirmed. Joe Manganiello will play Crocodile across seasons two and three, and Lera Abova will portray Nico Robin, a key figure who will eventually join the Straw Hat crew. Season two’s cast includes Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, Joe Manganiello as Crocodile, Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha, Lera Abova as Nico Robin, Mark Harelik as Dr. Hiriluk, Sendhil Ramamurthy as Nefertari Cobra, Brendan Sean Murray as Brogy, Callum Kerr as Smoker, Camrus Johnson as Mr. 5, Clive Russell as Crocus, Daniel Lasker as Mr. 9, David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3, Jazzara Jaslyn as Miss Valentine, Julia Rehwald as Tashigi, Rob Colletti as Wapol, Ty Keogh as Dalton, and Werner Coetser as Dorry.
Excited about the casting of Luffy’s brother for the live-action One Piece series? Share your thoughts in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!
https://comicbook.com/anime/news/netflix-one-piece-anime-ace-xolo-rumor/embed/#
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2025-11-05 16:40