One Piece showrunner gives update on Jamie Lee Curtis casting
Jamie Lee Curtis could play Doctor Kureha
One Piece co-showrunner Matt Owens really wants Jamie Lee Curtis to join the One Piece crew.
Curtis has already shared her interest in playing Doctor Kureha, sharing a post on Instagram of the character with the comment: "ONCE the STRIKE against the greed of the AMTPT is SETTLED with a FAIR CONTRACT, I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha in @onepiecenetflix"
"Mommy dearest, that's why we sent you that figure!" Owens commented. "No need to lobby. Once we get what we deserve and get back to work let's talk!"
A post shared by Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis)
A photo posted by on
Doctor Kureha would be introduced in One Piece season 2, and Owens spoke to Deadline about the possibility of Curtis joining the cast.
"We have opportunities to stunt cast some roles, some rules that are very important, and it came out that Jamie Lee Curtis is a One Piece fan," he shared. "As soon as she said that, we were like, okay, we have to try and get her on the show. What can we do? And Doctor Kureha, very luckily, is a character who is coming up in our story, and is someone who is perfect for Jamie Lee Curtis.
"So we tried to start manifesting this dream of ours," he continued. "After she won her Oscar, the writers' room sent her a figure of Doctor Kureha with a nice note that said, 'Congratulations on your statue, here's another one to put next to it. Hope to speak to you soon.'"
Curtis' Instagram post also helped matters. "When she reposted that, it got a lot of fan interest, and I commented on it," Owens added. "We're trying to manifest it. Yes, as of right now, SAG is still striking so there have not been real conversations. But as soon as there can be, I'm ready. I will take her out to dinner, we'll talk about it. We'll do all of it because at this point we're writing for her – we really, really want her to come and play with us in season 2."
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One Piece season 2 doesn't yet have a release date, but we could be seeing new episodes as soon as a year after the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors' strike comes to an end.
While you wait for more One Piece, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows to stream now.
I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.