With the actor herself taking strides for years to land the part, director Marc Jobst reveals why casting Nami for the live-action One Piece show was important for him. Introduced in chapter 8 of Eiichiro Oda's iconic manga, and briefly in the pilot of the anime adaptation, Nami is introduced as a thief who specifically robs other pirates, with her motivations behind her thievery not revealed until later on. She eventually joins Monkey D. Luffy as the Straw Hats Pirates' navigator in their quest to find the mythical One Piece treasure and fulfill her dream of completing a map of the entire world.
https://screenrant.com/one-piece-live-action-nami-casting-director-importance-explain/