EXCLUSIVE: In One Piece dream casting, Tony winner Cole Escola (Oh Mary!, At Home with Amy Sedaris) has been tapped as a series regular in Season 3 of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga.
Escola will play the fan-favorite character of Bon Clay (aka Bentham, aka Mr. 2 Bon Kurei) in the first major casting for Season 3. A master of performance and precision, Bon Clay is as dangerous as they are dazzling — a theatrical assassin who turns combat into art.
Envisioned as non-binary, Bon Clay is one of the biggest new additions to Season 3 of One Piecewhich is gearing up to go back into production later this year in Cape Town, South Africa. In the manga mythology, the character, known for his flamboyant ballet and swans-inspired look, starts off as a villain before befriending Luffy and the gang.
The live-action One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy and his crew as he sets out to find the legendary fabled treasure, One Piece, and become King of the Pirates. The series stars Iñaki Godoy as Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji.
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One Piececreated in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios (an ITV Studios partner), was given an early Season 3 renewal in August, ahead of the upcoming March 10, 2026 launch of Season 2, One Piece: Into the Grand Line.
Ian Stokes and Joe Tracz serve as co-showrunners, writers and executive producers for Season 3. Oda, Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements through Tomorrow Studios, Tetsu Fujimura, Chris Symes, Christoph Schrewe and Steven Maeda also executive produce.
Upon its 2023 debut, Season 1 of One Piece spent eight weeks on Netflix’s Global Top 10, reaching No. 1 in over 75 countries and becoming the streamer’s first English-language series to debut at No. 1 in Japan. The show has amassed nearly 100 million views and is one of Netflix’s most downloaded shows of all time. Additionally, One Piece was nominated for 11 awards at the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Young Teen Series.
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Escola most recently wrote and originated the lead role in the hit Broadway play Oh Mary!a performance that earned them a Tony Award for lead actor. After an extended Broadway run that wraps in January, the play will transfer to the West End.
Escola also was a writer and recurring guest star on At Home with Amy Sedarissharing in the show’s Comedy/Variety Sketch Series WGA Award. Escola next stars opposite Jesse Plemons in A24 comedy Jonty. Additional credits included Fantasmas, Difficult People, Man Seeking Woman, Search Party and Mozart in the Jungle. Escola is repped by UTA, Rise Management and Schreck Rose Dapello.
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