Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 20, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The manga and series have a worldwide fan base that has already put more than four billion US dollars into merchandise. The anime-based video game, with more than 25 versions, has sold more than 10 million copies since May 2002. The animated series, 500 episodes long, tops the rankings of the most popular series in Europe, Asia and the United States. So the time seems ripe for a film adaptation.
Justin Chatwin, who took on the role of Tom Cruise’s son in “War of the Worlds”, is intended for the leading role of Goku. He plays the powerful warrior who protects Earth from villains who want to subjugate the universe and control the misterious Dragonballs.
For the role of a manga character with martial-arts skills, Chatwin is already completing hard training for the filming that will begin soon. The renowned company 87Eleven is taking him under its wing, which among other things handled the stunt work in films such as Matrix, DMr. & Mrs. Smith or 300.
James Marsters, known to the fan community as vampier Spike from the girlie TV series “Buffy” and “Angel”, slips into the role of the antagonist Piccolo. The rest of the casting is not yet complete.
Dragonball is produced by Stephen Chow, who was responsible, among other things, for “Shaolin Soccer”, “Kung Fu Hustle” or was involved as an executive producer on “The X-Files”. As a co-author, he worked on “Final Destination” and “Final Destination 3”.
