One Piece Season 3 Officially Invites Whitewashing Allegations With Pell Casting Choice

Netflix just dropped a major update to the One Piece live-action Season 3 cast list, announcing new industry stars for some of the series’ rather niche yet popular characters (via Tudum). However, just like what happened with some of the previous casting choices, such as Vivi, Usopp, and others, the fanbase may erupt once again, targeting Netflix with whitewashing allegations over Pell’s casting. And honestly, it feels like they are openly inviting such criticism, even after all the previous backlash.

But why exactly could this become another big, controversial fan discussion? And what about the other newly announced cast members? Are they fine? Here, we’ve shed further light on the matter.

Why Jamie Ward’s Casting as Pell May Receive Negative Fan Reactions

Pell from the One Piece anime | Credits: Toei Animation

During the Arabasta Saga in the One Piece anime, Pell emerged as a notable figure. He was an influential figure and the Commander of the Royal Guard. In fact, some of his feats in the arc made him one of the series’ most respected characters. Especially notable is the scene where Pell carried a massive, city-destroying time bomb high into the sky above Alabasta and survived the point-blank, nuclear-scale explosion, which gave viewers literal goosebumps. That’s why his casting was quite important.

While Jamie Ward is indeed a great actor, and his physical build kind of aligns with the Pell we know, in the anime, Pell has the appearance of someone who belongs to a fictional country inspired by ancient Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures. Therefore, he even has a distinct look on his face that feels like those iconic Middle Eastern people. But Jamie Ward doesn’t really exude such a vibe. Ward is an Australian-born actor with clear Western facial features that may not look like Pell.

Jamie Ward’s past roles, such as Father Gomez from His Dark Materials, Lorenzo Calogero from Invisible Boys, and Angel from The Durrells, stand as enough proof that he is capable of playing Pell. However, fans may wonder, “Why didn’t Netflix just cast a Middle Eastern actor for Pell?”

Every New One Piece Season 3 Cast Announced & How Accurate They Are

Honestly, apart from Pell, the rest of the latest cast announcement doesn’t ring that many alarm bells. Emilio Sakraya as Koza would be our personal favorite. He would be able to capture the charismatic rebel-leader aesthetic of Koza pretty well. Then, Omid Abtahi as Toto also seems like a reasonable choice. Abtahi certainly does have the age, appearance, and acting range to sell Toto.

Finally, Nabeel Khan as Chaka might seem a bit off. But his intimidating physical presence can serve well for one of Alabasta’s strongest royal guards. So, out of the four newly announced cast members for One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta Live-action Season 3, Pell appears to be a controversial choice. But if you can overlook the ethnic dissimilarity between the character from the live-action and the anime, then it wouldn’t remain that big of an issue. What are your thoughts on it, though?

One Piece Live-Action Season 1 and 2 are currently available to watch on Netflix, and you can also catch up to the original anime on Crunchyroll.