User blog comment:The ASL Pirates/The Supernovas Where Are They Now?/@comment-24769684-20150515090653/@comment-24850639-20150515194109

No shit its not canon, but why would he say that? The things Oda reveals in SBS aren't "canon" but they're still taken to mean something, so what makes a real character and real story he made ABOUT ONE PIECE any different? Does the fact Z hasn't appeared canonically change the fact that he's still the one that instructed so many of the Marines we know? No......Does the fact that Shiki's film Strong World wasn't canon change the fact that Shiki had that war with Roger? No.....Escaped from Impel Down? No....

The fact of the matter is that the Shichibukai are who they are, regardless of what film, or arc. THEY DO EXIST, and THERE ARE SEVEN. There have always been 7. In agreement with you ASL, he didn't specifically say it was the new Shichibukai, just that he's one now. "Now" in this case being post-timeskip. So you're right, it could def still be Mingo or Mihwawk or whatevs, I just feel like Oda is trying to keep this 7th person a mystery that he hints at for a reason. So my theory is just a theory, nothing more, but you're not going to convince me that Z, or Shiki isn't a real person, or the things they say don't have real weight for the simple fact that they haven't appeared canonically. I'm not saying that there's eventually going to be a Shiki arc, or anyone from the movies will just pop up randomly, but Oda made these people and gave them their backstory for a reason.