Turns Out, Jamie Lee Curtis Won’t Be In ‘One Piece’ After All

If there’s one unequivocal piece of praise you can give Tomorrow Studios’ live-action adaptation of One Piece, it’s that they have an uncanny knack for nailing the casting. From the Straw Hats themselves to the world’s most immaculate Helmeppo, the casting director deserves a raise.

But there is one character many, many One Piece fans have a set image for: we want Jamie Lee Curtis, of Halloween and Everything Everywhere All At Once fame, to play Tony Tony Chopper’s adoptive grandma, Dr. Kureha.

This fan casting has been circling the internet since the One Piece live-action project was announced. And it wasn’t just fans of One Piece fanning the flames. Curtis herself expressed an interest in the role. She’s a bonafide One Piece fan. But in an interview with Deadline, Tomorrow Studios’ CEO and President delivered some unwelcome news: Curtis would not be our Kureha.

The Curtis / Kureha journey, explained

Jamie Lee Curtis has been talking about wanting to play Dr. Kureha for over a year. She talked about it before the live-action One Piece even premiered. She talked about it on the red carpet of the Oscars before she won Best Supporting Actress for Everything Everywhere All At Once. She talked about it as a main personal driver during last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike.

The character is also an obvious match. Kureha is a sharp, sassy older woman who proudly parades her midriff. In other words, she’s a quirky, sexy granny. Perfect Curtis territory.

However, over the last couple weeks, we’ve had cause for concern that things weren’t panning out as fans desired. In late June 2024, a picture emerged of Curtis on the set of Freaky Friday 2 with Lindsay Lohan. It was notable to One Piece fans precisely because we all knew that, down in South Africa, filming for season 2 had just begun. Suddenly, Curtis’ Kureha prospects looked unlikely.

Tomorrow Studios’ president, Becky Clements, confirmed our suspicions about a month later, in an interview with Deadline. “[Curtis] loves the show. She has too many films and TV shows that she’s going into production on so our production dates aren’t going to work,” Clements explained. “She definitely wanted to do it but she’s got deals in first position, and it just became complicated.”

The schedule is always to blame, isn’t it? Truly wild that the freaking Oscar-winner isn’t in One Piece for a lack of interest. Once again, what a time to be a One Piece fan, folks.

Clements wouldn’t say who will be playing Kureha instead. But she assured Deadline, “We have found an amazing person.” After all, Chopper deserves only the best sexy adoptive mom.