Stephen Chow, famous in America for his films Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, shocked the world when he announced that his next project would be a live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese manga-turned-cartoon Dragonball.
The scoffing diminished (somewhat) when it was announced that the film would be directed by James Wong (The One, Final Destination 3) and feature award-winning actor Chow Yun Fat (The Killer, Hard Boiled).
Despite Chow Yun Fat’s star power and the solid production team put together for the film, apparently 20th Century Fox fears the competition.
Dragonball was originally slated to open August 15, 2008, which would have put it up against
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Wild Child, The International, and
Tropic Thunder, which all open that the same weekend. Moving the release date of a film is common in Hollywood, and didn’t come as too much of a surprise, but what was a surprise is how far back the movie was moved: the new expected release date is April 3, 2009!
Dragonball stars
Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as
Goku, a youthful extraterrestrial warrior who adopts Earth as his home.
Emmy Rossum (Poseidon) stars as
Bulma, the daughter of a Dragon Ball master whose Dragon Ball—one of seven mystical objects containing incredible power—is stolen by the evil warrior
Piccolo, played by
James Marsters (“Spike” on Buffy and Angel). Chow Yun Fat will play
Master Roshi, a powerful Dragon Ball wizard with a dirty sense of humor who aids Goku
for a price.
Eriko Tamura (Heroes) and Joon Park (Speed Racer) also join the cast, playing
Mai and
Yamcha respectively.
Dragonball’s new release date is slated for April 3, 2009.
Click HERE for Emmy Rossum’s personal blog, on which she shares background information about the filming of Dragonball, straight from the set! Emmy Rossum MySpace
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.