According to a press release, a Chinese company, Shanghai Minghuan Investment, has purchased the rights to create a live-action film version for Eiichiro Oda’s worldwide bestselling manga, One Piece. They have announced their plans in really making that film happen, and it will be starring a Japanese actor as Monkey D. Luffy. However, Shueisha has cleared things up and said that the reports are FALSE.

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According to that now debunked press release, Japanese actor, Masataka Kubota, who appeared in the live-action Death Note drama as Light Yagami, was the actor chosen to play Luffy, while Chinese idol and GNZ48 member, Xie Leilei, will be playing Charlotte Purin. The idol is known to Chinese fans as “The Girl from One Piece” due to her resemblance with the character she will be portraying.

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That false press release, which was published via Business Wire, also stated that Shanghai Minghuan Investment bought the rights to make the movie for 1.6 billion yen. The news initially had received mixed reactions from Japan, though some did think it was a hoax at first, until Shueisha cleared it up after speaking with ANN. Japanese anime blog, Hachimakikou, described the reaction from fans with this picture:

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Shueisha did not reveal any more information, but just clarified that the news reports are FAKE.