Ahead of the film’s release, a new report mentions that the main character Uta from One Piece Film: Red is the franchise's first canon movie character in 13 years.
According to a Tweet by Twitter user @newworldartur, Uta will be a canon character in the One Piece manga, and she is the first to be a canon character following Shiki from One Piece Film: Strong World.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, something being called canon in media means that its events are an official part of a series’ timeline.
For example, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train and Jujutsu Kaisen 0 directly affect the events of their respective TV anime.
While there has been a trend of anime movies being canon, most anime movies of shonen franchises are typically not canon. This means the events in the movie have no bearing on the source material.
This makes news of Uta being a canon character in the manga significant. Though @newworldartur clarified that while Uta is going to be canon, a One Piece Red producer confirmed that parts of the movie do not fit in the canon timeline of the manga.
Even if it some of the film’s events do not fit the main timeline, the fact that Uta is an official character means the next One Piece film can technically be called a canon film.
For comparison, while Shiki is a canon character, the rest of the film isn’t. As for the Stampede movie, while it did have a canon reveal, the rest of the film does not align with the manga’s events.
Following this report, we can expect to see Uta appear or at least be mentioned in the manga. Though there’s no info yet on when or how she’ll appear in the series.
One Piece Film: Red is the fifteenth movie in the series, and it follows Luffy and the Straw Hat Crew as they attend the concert of Uta. Though it is revealed that Luffy and Uta have a connection, with Uta being the daughter of Red-Haired Shanks.
The movie will release in Japanese cinemas on August 6, 2022. It will then be released in cinemas internationally in Fall 2022.
Related: One Piece Red to Release Film-Inspired Fashion Line