One Piece Film: Red is just around the corner and is one of the many things that the fans of the series are excited for currently. With the manga entering its final arc soon, Eiichiro Oda is taking a one-month break and preparing for the conclusion of his magnum opus. At the same time, fans still have One Piece Film: Red to look forward to, meaning there is no dearth of content during the upcoming break.
Earlier today, a new trailer for One Piece Film: Red was revealed to the fans, and while not a full-length trailer, it certainly touched upon some very important things regarding the plot of the film and the importance of several characters that take part in it, such as Uta, Gordon, Shanks, and the Straw Hat Pirates. The trailer also raised quite a few questions in the minds of the fans and made sure the curiosity and excitement remains extremely high. Most importantly, it gave fans a better look at Luffy's relationship with Uta, the main heroine of the movie, and it is safe to say that it is shocking, to say the least.
Luffy & Uta's Connection
One Piece Film: Red trailer kicked off with Uta's performance at one of her concerts and Luffy meeting her. Prior to this trailer, fans assumed that Luffy and Uta shared no previous connection, however, this was shockingly proven wrong immediately today. Luffy and Uta share quite a bit of history, it seems. Upon meeting her Luffy tries to remind her that they knew each other and Uta immediately recognizes him from when they were kids.
Upon the Straw Hats asking him how he knew the star Uta, Luffy mentions that he is well aware that Uta is Shanks' daughter. Fans also get to see a flashback sequence of Luffy and Uta as kids in the trailer. Surprisingly, the two share a very deep connection from when Shanks was visiting Fooshia Village 12 years prior to the current events of the story. While it isn't known how well the two got along, by the looks of it, they were both great friends and share a deep connection that they treasure even today.
The events of the flashback seem to precede even the first chapter of the series. In One Piece's very first chapter fans get to see Luffy stab his left cheek in an attempt to show Shanks he is ready to sail the high seas with him. In the flashback sequence from the movie, Luffy doesn't bear his scar meaning the events of the flashback from Film Red acts as a prequel to the manga. It must be noted that Shanks stayed in Fooshia Village for over a year.
Fans only got to see the last few days of his stay there in the Romance Dawn arc, meaning the events of Film Red can very well be considered canon. Luffy and Uta seem to still hold deep care for each other, however, something sinister appears to be targeting her to make use of her powers. What exactly it is and how it affects the plot of the story remains unknown yet. Fans do, however, get to see Luffy go all-out in an attempt to save her – a task in which he probably succeeds as well.
Shanks' Appearance
​​​​​Shanks is one of the main characters in One Piece Film: Red as a lot of the story centers around him and his daughter, Uta. While it is unknown how much of Shanks fans will get to see in the present, it is almost certain that there will be quite a lot of scenes delving into his relationship with Uta and even with Luffy before the first chapter of the story.
Although not confirmed, Uta does appear to be Shanks' biological daughter, meaning that the red-haired pirate's lover could also potentially make an appearance in the movie. By the looks of it, Uta appears to be royalty, and this could well be an indication of Shanks' lineage. The majority of his screen time is likely going to be in flashbacks where he spends time with his daughter and then later is forced to leave her, as seen in the first trailer of the movie.
That's not to say that Shanks won't appear in the current timeline of the movie. Towards the end of the trailer, fans got to see Shanks in the current timeline of the story. Along with him are all the members of the Red Hair Pirates, all donning their new attires, putting beyond any doubt that Shanks is, indeed, going to be in this film.
owever, it remains unknown how big a role he will play. That said, the film being named "Red" after Shanks does give hope to some fans that he might, after all, play a big role in the movie. It is also interesting to note that Shanks' role in the manga is also going to be more prominent in the coming future as the Wano Country arc has finally wrapped up. As such Oda, could very well give everyone a preview of Shanks' past and even his powers, as he did in One Piece: Stampede with things like Laugh Tale's name reveal, and some dialogue between Roger and Rayleigh.