ONE PIECE Season 3 Casts Non-Binary Actor Cole Escola to Play Non-Binary Icon, Bon Clay

Non-Binary Actor Cole Escola Will Play Bon Clay in One Piece Season 3

One Piece season two will set sail this March. But the first piece of One Piece season three casting is already emerging. If you recall, Netflix renewed its live-action One Piece for season three early, bringing fans much joy. And now, we know that joining the crew in One Piece season three will be Bon Clay, played by Cole Escola of Oh Mary! fame. Oh Mary! took Broadway by storm this year with its iconic drag queen retelling of the story of Mary Todd Lincoln. Cole Escola wrote, created, and originally starred in Oh Mary!—they went on to win Best Leading Actor in a Play, making them the first openly non-binary person to achieve this honor.

Now, Escola will play Bon Clay in One Piece season three. And yeah, this is a GREAT casting.

Who Is Bon Clay in One Piece?

But just who is Escola’s Bon Clay in the world of One Piece? Bon Clay is a devastating One Piece assassin, one who combines theater and murder into pure art. They love to swan-inspired looks, ballet fashion, and dazzling designs, because yes, they ARE a diva. And much of their aura evokes ballerina meets killer. We LOVE them. We don’t want to share any spoilers here, but even though Bon Clay begins life as a villain on One Piece, can someone so awesome truly be bad? In fact, despite being an assassin, an important thing to know about Bon Clay is that they prioritize friendship over literally everything else.

In the anime/manga, Bon Clay is noted to feel they are both a man and a woman, reconceived here by One Piece season three as non-binary in a way that REALLY works for us. We hope the show gives them the they/them pronouns they deserve. Netflix notes that Bon Clay is “a master of performance and precision, Bon Clay is as dangerous as they are dazzling—a theatrical assassin who turns combat into art.

Bon Clay is also a part of the Baroque Works assassins’ collective and is a major part of One Piece‘s Alabasta arc, which we know will take place in season three of One Piece. The Alabasta arc involves the Straw Hat pirates finding the desert kingdom of Alabasta and attempting to stop a war between the rebels and the royal guard of the land. This casting confirms that this fan-favorite arc is about to get even better.

More About Live-Action One Piece

Netflix’s live-action One Piece has been confirmed for seasons two and three. One Piece season two, Into the Grand Line, will officially release in March. Meanwhile, One Piece season three is “is set to go back into production later this year in Cape Town, South Africa.”

You can watch One Piece season one streaming on Netflix today.