One Piece season 2 will not cover the Arabasta arc, meaning the show might struggle to have a recurring villain that can replace Arlong. Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece is heading toward the Grand Line, but it will not get through the entire Arabasta saga just yet. As revealed by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, season 2 will cover Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island. One noticeable absence is Arabasta, during which the Straw Hats face Sir Crocodile and his followers.

One Piece rarely has a main villain who appears for multiple successive arcs, but the Netflix show took a different approach. Arlong was a recurring antagonist in One Piece season 1, appearing as early as in episode 3. The fishman even replaced Don Krieg during the Baratie episodes and later returned as the “final boss” of the season in the episodes dedicated to Nami. Assuming One Piece season 2 will try to do something similar, the live-action show has a tricky challenge ahead of it since Crocodile might be saved for season 3.

One Piece May Struggle To Replace Arlong As The Main Villain Without Crocodile

Crocodile Might Be Saved For One Piece Season 3

The fact that One Piece is saving Arabasta for season 3 implies that Crocodile will not have a significant role in season 2. Even if the leader of the Baroque Works were to appear in season 2, there would not be much for him to do before Luffy and his friends arrived in the Kingdom of Arabasta. Nefertari Vivi first mentions Crocodile at Whiskey Peak as she explains what is happening in her homeland to the Straw Hat pirates. The crew then goes on a few side adventures before heading to Arabasta.

During the events of One Piece season 2, Crocodile is one of the Warlords of the Sea and leader of the crime syndicate Baroque Works.

The Straw Hat pirates first interact with Crocodile at Little Garden, which will be covered in One Piece season 2. Sanji picks up a call from Crocodile and pretends to be one of the members of the Baroque Works. It is a brief but intense interaction that sets the tone for how dangerous Crocodile can be. After Little Garden, Crocodile becomes aware of Luffy, yet they only run into each other at Arabasta. I assume that Crocodile will be the main villain of One Piece season 3, perhaps making only one or two appearances in season 2.

Who The Main Villain In One Piece Season 2 Could Be, If Not Crocodile

Could A Different Member Of The Baroque Works Be The Main Villain?

Given that Crocodile cannot be the main villain of season 2 – his story would have no payoff for now – One Piece will have to make some changes to the source material. One option would be to have Smoker chasing down Luffy from Loguetown to Drum Island, although this would be too similar to Garp’s role in the first season. Another option is to have members of the Baroque Works appearing throughout the season. This would be a way of teasing Crocodile’s role in the story without using him.

One Piece has confirmed Charithra Chandran as Vivi in season 2 of Netflix’s live-action show, and her most famous role proves she’s perfectly cast.

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An even more interesting approach would be to have Miss All Sunday as the main villain of the season. Nico Robin is one of the most important One Piece characters that are about to debut in live-action, and it would make sense for her to be a recurring villain before her eventual redemption at Arabasta. Giving Nico Robin more screen time as a villain before she joins the Straw Hats would be a clever deviation from the source material, especially since Arabasta will only happen in One Piece season 3.