How would One Piece Film: Red connect to the One Piece canon?

One Piece Film: Red is one of the most hyped movies of 2022. It will feature the pirate Captain “Red-Haired” Shanks, a mentor-figure to Luffy and the one who gave him his signature Straw Hat. However, fans have been wondering how this movie will connect to the canon.

Will One Piece Film: Red show Shanks’s past?

Recently, mangaka Eiichiro Oda revealed the names of everyone from the Red Hair Pirates. Oda had previously stated that One Piece Film: Red will feature a female character who has not been seen in the series so far. Many have speculated that this new character will be the villain or anti-hero.

However, since most of the One Piece movies are canon, fans speculate One Piece Film: Red will be canon as well, and as such, they wonder how the movie will connect to the manga or the anime.

The question largely depends on what One Piece Film: Red will feature. Shanks' character is also going to be interesting for fans. Since he left Luffy with his hat and left East Blue altogether, Luffy and Shanks have not met again. Even when Shanks was in Marineford to end the war, he chose not to meet Luffy.

It seems interesting that One Piece Film: Red has heavily promoted Shanks so far, going as far as to design the “D” in “Red” to have three scars like Shanks. However, it seems a little far fetched that One Piece Film: Red will feature the extremely anticipated second meeting between Luffy and his mentor.

One fan theory speculates that One Piece Film: Red might focus on Shanks’ journey from when he left Luffy up to when he became one of the Four Emperors (Yonko). Not only would this be a viable plotline, but it would also make sense to feature Shanks’s entire crew in this flashback.

The new character might be someone Shanks fought against or associated with in the past. She would now appear before Luffy, thus connecting the two without having them meet in One Piece Film: Red.

Another fan theory suggests that One Piece Film: Red might focus entirely on Shanks and show some of the fights he is known for.

Either way, One Piece Film: Red is sure to give Captain Shanks his due, and will shed light on many secrets regarding him that. One Piece Film: Red is slated to be released on August 6, 2022.

About the author

Aratrika Baidya is an anime Content Specialist at Sportskeeda. She completed her Master's in English Literature from the University of Calcutta and it was her final year elective and dissertation on Pop Culture and Visual Arts that led her to pursue a career in the field.

With a rich 4 years of experience under her belt, Aratrika strives to produce accurate content by cross-checking information with reliable sources. She is aware of the social climate with respect to her field and believes in maintaining a respectful and neutral tone while reporting on any topic.

She admires Isaac Asimov, Hiromu Arakawa, Satoshi Kon, and Madeline Miller for their creativity. If she had the opportunity to go back in time, she would love to be part of 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' as she is curious to know if she would be a Sith or a Jedi.

When she's not working, Aratrika enjoys photography, reading, traveling, and sketching.

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Edited by Saman