It has been announced that a live-action Hollywood-produced “One Piece” television series has begun production, Yahoo! Japan reports.

The upcoming series will be overseen by production company Tomorrow ITV Studios (who are also working on the live-action television series for “Cowboy Bebop“) under the supervision of Marty Adelstein, one of the executive producers of popular series “Prison Break“.

This development comes during the celebration of the launch of “One Piece” in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine on July 22, 1997, exactly 20 years ago.

In a statement released by Adelstein, he believes “One Piece” could be one of the most expensive TV series ever made.

In a written statement, series creator Eiichiro Oda commented:

There have been many discussions about making a live-action series [of “One Piece”] for past 20 years. About three years ago, we began to seriously consider our options. Through many obstacles, we have finally found a collaborator we’re pleased to work with. Coincidentally, this announcement comes on the [series’] 20th anniversary. I’m very happy. This announcement may cause some anxiety, but my one condition for this was to never betray the fans who have supported my work for past 20 years. Please get excited and wait for the next update.

Please look forward to it!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMmI-KEgLBE

With more than 416 million copies in circulation worldwide, “One Piece” is the best-selling manga series of all time.

There are currently no further details on when the series is set to air or how many episodes it will have.