SpongeBob and One Piece Could Team Up for a McDonald’s Happy Meal, but Key Characters Are Absent

I recently started watching the live-action adaptation of One Piece on Netflix, having never experienced the anime or manga before. My curiosity about this beloved series, which many of my friends adore, led me to choose the live-action version since I don’t have the time to dive into the lengthy anime or manga. I’ve wrapped up season one and just begun season two, where most of the crew is currently trapped inside a whale, while Luffy is outside, shouting at everything in sight to help them escape. It’s incredibly charming, and I’m really enjoying it.

Now, onto the exciting part: I was thrilled, then puzzled, to discover that McDonald’s might be launching a One Piece x SpongeBob toy collaboration for Happy Meals. This news comes from a food leaker, so it’s not officially confirmed yet, but it seems likely based on their history.

My first reaction? This is awesome! These two franchises, while both having nautical themes, are completely different, and the idea of them coming together is hilarious. I can see SpongeBob as Luffy since they’re both lively heroes, and Squidward as Sanji makes sense given their shared appreciation for the finer things in life. I can’t quite wrap my head around Plankton as Usopp, but that just adds to the humor.

However, my second reaction was confusion. I admit that having only seen a season and a bit of the live-action show, I expected to not recognize some characters in this collaboration. That’s fine—I don’t know who Jinbe, Franky, or Linlin are yet, and while I’ve seen Chopper in promotional materials (I think he’s coming up soon in the show), I haven’t met him yet. No big deal.

What is a big deal is the glaring absence of Nami and Zoro, especially when there are obvious SpongeBob characters to pair them with. Why isn’t there a Nami/Sandy or a Zoro/Patrick? Both would be hilarious! It’s surprising that both series are missing two of their most significant characters. The leaker did mention that there could be more characters than what’s shown, so there’s still hope.

Also, the image has Larry and Mr. Krabs mixed up. I’m not sure if that means it’s not legit or if it’s just an early mistake that will be fixed later. We’ll find out when these toys actually release.

According to the leaker, this collaboration is set for Australia, and I really hope it makes its way to the States. By then, I should know who Chopper is, but I’m already drawn to that ridiculous plastic figure of Sanji/Squidward, and I’m curious about the potential Zoro/Patrick pairing. I’ve mostly steered clear of McDonald’s as an adult, but I would definitely grab a Happy Meal or two for this absurdity.