I'll start out by saying that Dragon Ball Z is my all-time favorite cartoon. I've loved the show ever since I was a kid, and I still love watching it to this day.
That being said, I've always wanted to see a GOOD live action version of the show. Unfortunately, the ones we've got so far have been pretty awful IMO.
I'm an aspiring screenwriter, and I would definitely love to take a crack at a live action adaption of the show. I was on Chat here at CBM.com one night, and me and KamenRider came up with some ideas on how to do a good adaption. Anyway, this is what we came up with:
Basically, this would be a movie saga split into a couple of trilogies. The first trilogy would be an adaption of the first show, Dragon Ball, and would involve Goku's adventures as a kid
Trilogy 1: Movie 1
This first movie would be an adaption of the Emperor Pilaf part of the show. It would also involve introducing Goku's character and him meeting Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong, Puar, and Master Roshi. It would end with the gang stopping Pilaf from using the Dragon Balls to take over the world.
Trilogy 1: Movie 2
The second movie would be about Goku battling the Red Ribbon Army. He would meet Krillin and Chi-Chi in this movie. This one could also possibly end with an easter egg hinting at King Piccolo
Trilogy 1: Movie 3
The third movie would, as you probably guessed it, be about Goku fighting King Piccolo. The movie would end with Goku defeating King Piccolo and possibly having an epilogue with Goku and Chi-Chi getting married and giving birth to Gohan. I thought about having Goku's fight against Piccolo Jr. in this one to, but I'm not sure if that would be too much for one movie. If not, it could just show his birth at some point.
The second trilogy would be an adaption of Z
Trilogy 2: Movie 1
This first movie would be about the Saiyan Saga. This would be the movie that would reveal Goku as a Saiyan. It would end with a big battle against Vegeta and an after-credits sequence featuring Frieza (with little hints of him in different parts of the movie).
Trilogy 2: Movie 2
This movie would be about the Z team going to Namek and battling Frieza. The moment Goku turns Super Saiyan would be played as a big, epic, and dramatic moment. The movie would end with Frieza being beaten and Namek exploding.
Trilogy 2: Movie 3
This final movie would deal with the Androids and Cell. The movie would have Goku being killed by Cell and Gohan defeating Cell (like in the show). This would most likely be the last movie in the series (unless a movie for the Buu Saga is greatly requested).
Extra Notes:
- I think the key for these movies to work would be giving all these characters and equal amount of development and their respective moments to shine. You could say the ensemble would play a big part.
- I'm not sure if the Buu Saga should be adapted. Personally, I felt like the end of the Cell Saga would have been a perfect end to the series and Buu might be a little too out there for the general audience. Then again, I hold the belief that anything can work on screen if you put enough time and effort into it, so who knows
- Some things from the show probably need to be cut down or out all together in order to make this work for the screen
- The less said about GT, the better
Anyway, that's how I would try to do a decent live action adaption of DBZ. Like it? Dislike it? Have any of your own ideas for this? Leave your thoughts and comments below! I would love to hear what you guys think! Shout out to KamenRider for thinking of some of these things with me! Later!