One Piece Season 3 has cast four new actors for the Alabasta arc: Emilio Sakraya as rebel leader Koza, Omid Abtahi as his father Toto, Nabeel Khan as royal guard captain Chaka, and Jamie Ward as the falcon-shifting guard Pell. Netflix confirmed the casting alongside the season’s official title, One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta, with filming already wrapped ahead of a 2027 premiere.
Who’s Playing Who in Season 3
The announcement, confirmed by Anime News Network and Deadline, fills out four of the Kingdom of Alabasta’s key defenders and rebels. All four are recurring guest roles, and filming has already wrapped in Cape Town, South Africa — per The Viewer’s Perspective‘s on-set reporting:
| Actor | Character | Role in the Story |
|---|---|---|
| Emilio Sakraya | Koza | Princess Vivi’s childhood friend, now leading the rebel army fighting to “free” Alabasta |
| Omid Abtahi | Toto | Koza’s father, a resident of the desert village of Yuba who raised both Koza and Vivi |
| Nabeel Khan | Chaka | Captain of the Royal Guard, a jackal-type Zoan devil fruit user |
| Jamie Ward | Pell | Royal Guard commander who can transform into a giant falcon |
Sakraya is known for Rheingold and Those About to Die; Abtahi for playing Salim in American Gods and Penn Pershing in The Mandalorian; Ward for The Gentlemen and His Dark Materials; and Khan for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Strike Back.
The Cast Already Locked In
These four join a season that already has some of its most important roles filled. Cole Escola is playing Bon Clay (Mr. 2), Xolo Maridueña is Portgas D. Ace, Awdo Awdo is Mr. 1, and Daisy Head is Miss Doublefinger — all four members of Baroque Works, the organization actually orchestrating Alabasta’s civil war from the shadows on orders from the Warlord Crocodile. Ian Stokes and Joe Tracz, who also write and executive produce, return as co-showrunners for a third season.
Why Alabasta Is the Adaptation’s Real Test
In the manga and anime, Alabasta is the arc where One Piece stops being episodic and starts building the world-scale stakes the series is now known for: a kingdom’s civil war engineered by a Warlord of the Sea, a princess who has to choose between her country and her friends, and the first time the Straw Hats fight an entire enemy organization rather than a single pirate captain. Netflix’s first two seasons proved the show could handle intimate, character-driven arcs. Alabasta is a different kind of test: it needs a functioning desert kingdom, a rebel army large enough to feel like a real civil war, and three separate Zoan devil-fruit transformations — Chaka’s jackal, Pell’s falcon, and Mr. 1’s steel-blade body — rendered well enough that they don’t look like the moment the show’s budget ran out. That’s the real reason this casting news matters more than a typical role announcement: it’s the first hard evidence of how ambitious Netflix is willing to make this specific arc, in a season already filming on location in South Africa rather than solely on the New Zealand sets used for earlier seasons.
When Does One Piece Season 3 Come Out?
Netflix has not set a premiere date beyond a 2027 window, first stated when the season’s official title was announced in April 2026. Season 2 arrived in March 2026, roughly three years after Season 1’s August 2023 debut; with filming already wrapped and this much casting locked in only five months after Season 2 aired, a 2027 release looks realistic, though no month has been confirmed.
Catch up on the story so far with our complete One Piece watch order, and see how the anime’s own next movie is shaping up in our breakdown of One Piece Film: God Valley.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the new One Piece Season 3 cast members?
Emilio Sakraya plays Koza, Omid Abtahi plays Toto, Nabeel Khan plays Chaka, and Jamie Ward plays Pell. All four are characters from the Alabasta arc, which Season 3 is subtitled after: One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta.
Who was already cast for One Piece Season 3?
Cole Escola (Bon Clay), Xolo Maridueña (Portgas D. Ace), Awdo Awdo (Mr. 1), and Daisy Head (Miss Doublefinger) were confirmed before this announcement.
When does One Piece Season 3 premiere on Netflix?
No premiere date has been set. Netflix has said the season is targeted for 2027, and filming has already wrapped in Cape Town, South Africa.
What arc is One Piece Season 3 adapting?
The Alabasta arc, subtitled in the show’s official season title, One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta. In the source manga, it’s the arc where Vivi’s kingdom is engulfed in a civil war engineered by the Warlord Crocodile and his Baroque Works organization.
Is Alabasta a good jumping-on point if I haven’t seen Season 1 or 2?
No — Alabasta is a direct continuation of the Baroque Works storyline introduced across the first two seasons, and depends on already knowing who Vivi and Crocodile are.
