One Piece Live-Action: Fans Raise Question Over Arlong’s Actor Skin Color
Netflix’s upcoming live-action film based on Eiichiro Oda’s popular creation ‘One Piece’ lately revealed its new cast members list on Wednesday. The new members will join the shoot of One Piece live-action in a few days, however, as soon as this news came out a little controversy over Arlong actor began to spread on the internet.
The new cast of One Piece live-action added six new members which include Morgan Davies (as Koby), Ilia Isorelys Paulino (as Alvida), McKinley Belcher (as Arlong), Jeff Ward (as Buggy), Vincent Regan (as Garp) and Aidan Scott (as Helmeppo). These six will be a part of the live-action Straw Hat Pirates in Netflix’s One Piece adaptation.
Selection seemed pretty good by the team of Netflix however, some fans didn’t like the casting decision by the makers as a bunch of them raised questions about the character of Arlong being played by a black actor. They pointed out this fact by calling it a matter of ‘oppression’.
Many users on Twitter made this thing a big issue that why Arlong is being played by a black guy and they just kept going on and on about this. Some even called it a bad move by Netflix to try to involve politics in the live-action of One Piece. But, there were many fans out there who supported this thing.
They appreciated the idea of Netflix introducing McKinley Belcher to play the role of Arlong. A fan wrote, “I can’t tell if people actually are mad at a black dude playing Arlong. The Fishmen stories are based on the segregation and discrimination black people have faced. Like how black people weren’t even considered fully human during slavery.”
“People getting pissed that Arlong is played by a black man completely missed the point of fishmen in One Piece,” he added. McKinley Belcher himself posted a response to a fan that responded to the actor’s recent casting as a part of One Piece’s live-action Netflix adaptation, with the actor stating how he was grateful to bring the character to life.
The actor who is set to play the villainous Fishman tweeted, “Arlong has lived through a lot of mistreatment and abuse. But I’m grateful I get to play a character with that kind of depth, means I sit in a privileged seat to say something meaningful while playing a badass who won’t let “men” decide his fate”.
On top of these new additions, the live-action is set to have the Straw Hat Pirates front and center in the 10-episode first season, with the main heroes set to include Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji.
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