While the second season for the One Piece live-action Netflix series is currently in production, one of its showrunners has stepped down over personal issues.

Matt Owens, one of the co-showrunners for the series, has announced he’s stepping down from the production to focus on his personal wellbeing.

“The last 6 years working on the live action One Piece have been a life changing journey. A dream come true. It’s also been A LOT,” Owens said on Instagram. “So I’m stepping off the Going Merry to take a break and focus on myself and my mental health.”

He added, “Thank you so much to Oda, Shueisha, Tomorrow Studios, Netflix, and the entire cast and crew for your trust, partnership, and hard work. For now I’m gonna take a breath, do some therapy, try and rank up in Marvel Rivals, and come back refreshed for the new adventures that await. Thanks to everyone who has supported me. See you real soon!”

Owens returned to help produce the show for Netflix alongside new co-showrunner Joe Tracz (Percy Jackson and the Olympians), who will presumably continue as the sole showrunner leading to its release. Tracz is also a writer and executive producer on the second season.

Steve Maeda, who was co-showrunner from the first season and helped adapt the popular manga/anime by Eiichiro Oda into a live-action series, is still serving as executive producer on the second season.

Original creator Eiichiro Oda also confirmed the second season will cover Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (and Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island.

While we know the second season went into production last summer and wrapped up filming earlier this year, a premiere date hasn’t been confirmed.

The cast from the first season all return to reprise their roles, including: Inaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji.

The original season for the One Piece live-action series premiered back in August 2023 exclusively via Netflix.