'One Piece' Celebrates 1,000th Episode With First US Movie Release

Popular anime series "One Piece" is all set to celebrate its 1,000th episode. To mark this occasion, the tenth film of the hit series will see a theatrical release in the U.S. in November.

The news came at a time when many fans discovered several Easter eggs in the form of Straw Hats members in the new Aqualad preview from DC Comics.

Toei Animation and Fathom Events plan to bring the hit 2009 movie "One Piece: Strong World" to the theaters in the U.S. The Munehisa Sakai directed film with English dub will premiere on Nov. 7, while the Japanese version with subtitles will be available from Nov. 9.

A special "One Piece: Mugiwara Chase" feature will be shown before the movie premieres. It is the first 3D CGI film and the eleventh "One Piece" movie, and runs for only 30 minutes.

"We are thrilled to bring 'One Piece Film: Strong World' for the first time ever to U.S. theaters in celebration of One Piece's 1,000th series episode," Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc, said in a press release. "One Piece fans across the United States can now experience this original film by creator Eiichiro Oda as it was meant to be - on the big screen."

"The One Piece franchise has been such a staple within the anime community, we can’t think of a better way to celebrate 1000 episodes than bringing One Piece Film: Strong World to the big screen for the first time," Fathom Events CEO, Ray Nutt said in the same press release.

"We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with Toei Animation and to bring unique events to anime fans nationwide," the CEO added.

Fans can purchase tickets for the films at the official website of Fathom Events. They can also find the list of theaters that will screen the movie next month.

"One Piece: Strong World" was written by legendary mangaka Eiichiro Oda and with a DVD version released in the U.S in 2013 and a Blu-Ray version launched three years after.

Meanwhile, Nami, Robin and Usopp appeared in DC Comics' "Aqualand" preview. Fans can also see the infamous Franky House and Sanji's Baratie restaurant in the comic. The preview surfaced after "One Piece" surpassed "Batman" in overall sales.