One Piece Season 2 is coming in 2026 to those with a Netflix subscription, and as the year ends, we’re getting nonstop reveals about what to expect. Now, after getting fresh looks at the giant whale Laboon, I’m back to speculating about what we haven’t seen thanks to the recently released episode titles.
The live-action anime adaptation has gone Hollywood, specifically in regard to its episode titles. It’s a strange development, but I’m not complaining, especially after seeing one clue that might be another clue about a major casting rumor that keeps getting denied.
One Piece Season 2’s Episode Titles Are Mostly Puns On Movie Titles And Quotes
In a surprising turn of events, One Piece decided to use a bunch of movie references for its episode titles for Season 2. Each title is either a pun of a popular movie, a quote, or the title of an actual movie. Check the sequential list out below, thanks to @WhatOnNetflix:
- Big Trouble in Little Garden
- Deer and Loathing in Drum Kingdom
- Good Whale Hunting
- Nami Deerest
- Reindeer Shames
- The Beginning of the End
- Wax On, Wax Off
- Whisky Business
I won’t parse through all the puns, because I think most movie fans are going to get the references on that end. I’m zeroing in on one episode in particular, though. “Wax On, Wax Off” is a clear nod to The Karate Kid franchise, and those following One Piece rumors the past year may already know where I’m going with this.
Does “Wax On, Wax Off” Confirm Xolo Maridueña’s Casting As Ace?
It’s been rumored for quite a while that Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña was cast in One Piece to play Luffy’s brother, Portgas D. Ace. Ace is a key character in the story, with limited appearances, so it made sense the show would tap a rising star like Maridueña to play the role.
Despite Netflix featuring Maridueña for One Piece content, the actor recently went on the record and refuted the claim that he’s playing Ace. Of course, right after he goes and says that, yet another reference loosely tying him to the franchise pops up.
Is it possible that “Wax On, Wax Off” is a clue that Xolo Maridueña will appear as Ace in that episode? In the anime, Ace didn’t cross paths with Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates until after Whisky Peak, which is teased after that episode. Of course, we’ve seen the live-action adaptation make various tweaks to the plot, like giving Koby and Helmeppo larger storylines than they had in the manga and anime at that point in the story.
Given that, I think it’s entirely possible that he could show up before, and we have yet another clue that Maridueña is playing Ace. So I’m 100% here for it, if that’s the case.
One Piece is coming to Netflix in 2026, though we’re still waiting on an official release date. The sheer amount of reveals as of late has me thinking it’ll happen earlier in the year rather than later, but we’ll have to wait and see.