Anime films based on established series have become lucrative events for fans as of late. This upward trend bodes well for Funimation's next big anime event, and many fans believe that the new Dragon Ball Super film by Toei Animation will fulfill that role. Fortunately for these fans, they no longer have to wait for more information on the next film, as Toei Animation has unveiled its title, a teaser video, and a new character during their panel at the San Diego Comic-Con.
The last film based on the Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, was released in American theaters on January 16th, 2019. The film highlighted Broly as one of the few Saiyans who escaped Planet Vegeta, the original home of the Saiyans, and showcased a fight between Goku, Vegeta, and Broly that threatened to push Broly into a violent rampage as the fight goes on. Dragon Ball Super: Broly was a modest hit in theaters, becoming the fourth highest-selling anime film behind Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back, Pokémon the Movie 2000, and Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.
During their Comic-Con panel, Toei announced that the next Dragon Ball film would be titled Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The teaser video unveiled during the panel does not go in-depth on the plot of the upcoming film - it doesn't showcase anything that will appear in the film - but it did reveal new technology that they are implementing to display the visual expressions of the film's characters. In addition, new designs of various characters were shown off, including ones for Piccolo, Pan, and Krillin, as well as a new unnamed character.
Original series creator Akira Toriyama is in charge of the screenplay and character designs, though a director has not been announced yet. The original Japanese voice actors of Goku and Vegeta, Masako Nozawa and Ryō Horikawa, will also be reprising their roles for the film. Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero will be playing into the "superhero" aspect throughout its story and hopes to tell a story on a "large scale."
Fans of the Dragon Ball franchise will be undoubtedly excited to see this film. It does not have a release date at this time, but once it does see the day of its debut, fans will surely be waiting for the film with open arms.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, and Demon Slayer: Mugen Train have all been successful at the American theatrical box office, with each film grossing $30.7M, $13.3M, and $47.7M respectively. So this has been a great time to be an anime fan.
Source: Toei Animation