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Credit: DisneyJamie Lee Curtis has been a household name for decades.
Her career launched in 1978 when she starred as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s iconic Halloween. From there, she’s not only made a name for herself in the world of horror, but she’s well-known for her comedic and drama roles as well as her Activia commercials in the mid-2010s and her recent role in the record-breaking Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022).
However, the scream queen has also had her own time with Disney, starring in the 2003 Disney flick Freaky Friday opposite Lindsay Lohan. She also starred in Disney’s recent disappointing Haunted Mansion remake alongside Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, and Danny DeVito. The film was an attempted remake of the 2003 film starring Eddie Murphy, both of which featured the iconic Disney parks attraction, the Haunted Mansion.
Unfortunately, just like the 2003 version, the 2023 version flopped at the box office despite the star-studded cast, possibly due to its July release instead of an October date, or its mediocre plot and comedic focus when fans were hoping for something a little darker from the family-friendly studio. In the wake of the film’s less-than-magical response, the movie was quickly moved from its theatrical run to a Disney+ release and it looks like Curtis has set her sights on a completely different streaming service.
Netflix is often credited as being the platform that started it all, revolutionizing at-home media and inventing the streaming model. Since it started streaming in 2007, the platform has created hundreds of popular original movies, including Tick, Tick…Boom! (2021), Bird Box (2018), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021), and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022).
However, Netflix is probably best known for its variety of wildly successful original series:
- Orange is the New Black
- Stranger Things
- Wednesday
- Squid Game
- Bridgerton
- You
- Black Mirror
And that’s just to name a few. Recently, the industry giant has followed Disney into the live-action remake model, specifically adapting popular anime series into live-action, to varying degrees of success. Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist, and Death Note are just a few of the adaptations Netflix has already produced. However, its most recent live-action adaptation has actually taken the world by storm, earning it an almost-immediate second season renewal.
One Piece is officially the third most popular franchise in the world, just behind Marvel and Star Wars, and officially beating out Harry Potter and Star Trek. The anime follows the adventures of Luffy and his pirate crew as they hunt down the “greatest treasure ever left,” which is called “One Piece.” The series, which is an adaptation of the manga first published in 1997, premiered on Fuji TV in 1999 and has been releasing episodes ever since. To date, the series has released over 1000 episodes.
Netflix just released the first season of their live-action adaptation of the series, quickly shooting the show to Netflix’s number one spot and surpassing viewing records previously set by Stranger Things and Wednesday. With a second season confirmed soon after its release, fans were speculating about who would make an appearance in future seasons, including what actors should play which characters.
Fans soon jumped on the idea of Jamie Lee Curtis portraying Doctor Kureha, a bold and outrageously dressed doctor introduced during One Piece’s “Drum Island Arc,” who becomes an ally to Luffy and his crew. This idea was spread across social media platforms, including hundreds of fan art pieces depicting Curtis in the iconic purple flame suit Kureha wears.
And now it seems as though Curtis herself is on board with the fancast. In a post to Instagram, Curtis shared a fanart with the caption
“ONCE the STRIKE against the greed of the AMTPT (sic) is SETTLED with a FAIR CONTRACT, I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha in @onepiecenetflix”
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With the disappointment of Haunted Mansion and the success of Netflix’s One Piece, it’s clear that Curtis is trying to distance herself from the failed Disney project. Personally, we think Jamie Lee Curtis can do almost no wrong and would love to see her take on the iconic character once the strikes have been settled. However, only time will tell if Netflix can see the same vision its fans do.
Would you want to see Jamie Lee Curtis join Netflix’s One Piece adaptation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!