“One Piece” has cast one of its antagonists for Season 3. Bon Clay will be played by Cole Escola, TheWrap has learned.
Escola is perhaps best known for creating and starring in the Broadway show “Oh, Mary!” which won two Tony Awards earlier this year. They’ve also appeared in “Search Party” as well as “At Home with Amy Sedaris,” “Difficult People” and “Big Mouth.” In addition to winning a Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, Escola was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama earlier this year.
It’s pretty great casting. In the anime and manga, Bon Clay, also known as Bentham of the Wild, is defined by their love of wild looks and an eccentric, borderline manic fighting style. And no one in Hollywood captures oddly charismatic mania better than Escola.
“A master of performance and precision, Bon Clay is as dangerous as they are dazzling — a theatrical assassin who turns combat into art,” a press release from Netflix reads.
In the original story of “One Piece,” Bon Clay was a member of Miss Goldenweek’s Baroque Works as well as a major antagonist of the Straw Hats during the Arabasta Arc. But, as is often the case when it comes to Luffy, they eventually come to be one of his closest allies.
Production for “One Piece” Season 3 will happen later this year in Cape Town, South Africa. More cast will be announced at a later date. Season 2, which is also known as “One Piece: Into the Grand Line,” will premiere on Netflix on March 10.
