Think about it for a TV show or manga it works fine (arguably), but for a film where you only have 90+ minutes to work with, you need to get your point across much more quickly. This is super important as the Radditz portion of DragonBall Z is far too similar to the Vegeta/Nappa portion and would slow down the pace of the film tremendously if we did both.

And no, he doesn't come back to life.ģ) Vegeta and Radditz are the two Saiyans who come to Earth - yes, only one Saiyan invasion. There is no Cell, there is no Buu, there is no Androids, nothing. I want to make it clear that Freeza IS the endgame. Easily digestible for first-time watchers.Ģ) Even though Freeza does NOT appear as the 'main villain' in this first screenplay, because he is shown right at the start he is established as the ultimate badass for the next movies. It sets up the story of the Saiyans, who they are, who the 'big bad' is (think Thanos), and who the hero is in the first 10-15 minutes of the film with no bullshit in the way. I believe this is the best possible opening you could do for a live-action DragonBall movie, as it could easily be the real beginning of DragonBall Z. Some important plot changes to keep in mind:ġ) We begin with Freeza, King Cold, Bardock and his origin story, and Goku who is sent to Earth just as he is in the original version. Unlike Evolution however, I am going to remain faithful in its tone and scale. I'm trying to make a Hollywood style film script that condenses the major events of Dragon Ball Z to fit a blockbuster movie. Secondly, I'm not trying to make a carbon copy of the manga because there would be no point. And just as importantly, it's based on the American version - not that there's any major differences in the story but the terminology is different from the Japanese. I firmly believe it has just as much potential as a Marvel film, but it all depends on the talent involved and the direction they decide to take.įirst thing is, my attempt is based on DRAGONBALL Z. So I decided on a whim to try giving it a go myself, since it's apparent Fox has no interest after Ben Ramsey's / James Wong's 'Evolution' misfire.

and they gave us 2 hours of entertainment in DragonBall: Evolution. I always thought it could be an incredible film, and evidently so did 20th Century Fox. I'm not a professional screenwriter (understatement), but I've had a fascination with a live-action DragonBall Z movie ever since I saw the show.

Dragon ball z scripts