Who do you want to direct a DB movie reboot?

[Hellspawn28]

So let's pretend that Fox is rebooting the Dragon Ball series as we speak and are looking for a director to direct a new movie. Who would want to direct and why?

My personal picks

Alex Proyas - I think he is a underrated director and he has a good track record of films with movies like The Crow, Dark City and I Robot. While I Robot was a name in only film, I think it was entertaining and the characters in the movie were pretty good. He knows how the handle both characters and stories while directing. I like Proyas' sensibilities on The Crow and Dark City which could be good for a DB movie.

Guillermo Del Toro - I know it will never happen but I would love to see Del Toro handle Dragon Ball. The guy has a great art direction and all of his films were great in my opinion (Expect for Mimic but even Guillermo Del Toro admits it was a bad film). He has good experience with action movies and knows how to handle characters with movies like Hellboy 1-2 and Blade II.

JJ Abrams - Most likely won't happen but I would love JJ Abrams work on a Dragon Ball movie. His Star Trek movie was a perfect example how to reboot a series and he is a great writer too. He also has a great track record of films such as Mission: Impossible III and Super 8.

The Blacklist:

Michael Bay - Self-explanatory

Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 1-3, Red Dragon, X-Men 3, Tower Heist)

Paul W. S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator, Death Race, The Three Musketeers '011)

Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla (1998), The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC, 2012) - He is just like Michael Bay but with no raciest stereotypes and bad sexual humor.

Stephen Sommers (Deep Rising, The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, GI Joe: Rise of Cobra)

[MCDaveG]

Well, I'll possibly want a reboot. I think that anything can be better than DBE, unless directed by Uwe Boll

[MarcFBR]

Alex Proyas - I think he is a underrated director and he has a good track record of films with movies like The Crow, Dark City and I Robot. While I Robot was a name in only film, I think it was entertaining and the characters in the movie were pretty good. He knows how the handle both characters and stories while directing. I like Proyas' sensibilities on The Crow and Dark City which could be good for a DB movie.

Proyas is a talented guy but his films tend to work best when 'dark' and more than a hint of mystery. I love his work, but I don't think Dragon Ball is where I'd want to see him.

Guillermo Del Toro - I know it will never happen but I would love to see Del Toro handle Dragon Ball. The guy has a great art direction and all of his films were great in my opinion (Expect for Mimic but even Guillermo Del Toro admits it was a bad film). He has good experience with action movies and knows how to handle characters with movies like Hellboy 1-2 and Blade II.

Similar things to Proyas, I'm just not sure that 'darkness' that bleeds out of a Del Toro film is something we want for Dragon Ball. This is where you might want someone as a producer or a consultant, who can watch over quality, without being 'the guy.

JJ Abrams - Most likely won't happen but I would love JJ Abrams work on a Dragon Ball movie. His Star Trek movie was a perfect example how to reboot a series and he is a great writer too. He also has a great track record of films such as Mission: Impossible III and Super 8.

His Star Trek film 'spits on ground' was as much Star Trek as Dragon Ball Evolution was Dragon Ball.
Mission Impossible 3 wasn't inherently terrible, but neither was it great. And it tended to retread the past films a bit to much (in fact, all 4 films were centered on rogue agents, and Hunt was rogue in 3 of them, considering the TV series was largely based around 'successful' missions the films are more an example of how not to adapt something for the screen. When you've made so many changes no one involved with the source material will even cameo, that's a hint that there is an issue.)

As for Super 8... well I just don't care.

The Blacklist:

Michael Bay - Self-explanatory

I'm not a Michael Bay fan, but an action over story Dragon Ball film wouldn't be a terrible thing. Just not to the extent of Bay.

Paul W. S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator, Death Race, The Three Musketeers '011)

Another guy I don't like... but I think he might actually be able to do a decent Dragon Ball flick. The stories in his films are often weak, but they often have decently thought sets and action. Anderson might have some potential in DB.

Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla (1998), The Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC, 2012) - He is just like Michael Bay but with no raciest stereotypes and bad sexual humor.

I don't think Emmerich would do it honestly. He's slipped into doing large set piece films, and any decent DB film would stick more to fighting than mass set images (although for a big one, we would hope for a couple.)

Stephen Sommers (Deep Rising, The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns, Van Helsing, GI Joe: Rise of Cobra)

This one I disagree on. He isn't a great director, but Mummy 1 and 2, and Rise of Cobra I could definitely see a Dragon Ball film in that 'style' working.

Don't forget to add Brett Ratner to the blacklist. We don't need to see Chris Tucker as Krillin.

[dbboxkaifan]

I'd like to see Cristopher Nolan do a Dragon Ball Z film either from Saiyan, Freeza or Cell's arc, but it'd be a dark, short of comedy and serious.

Loved watching Dark Knight and Batman Begins on Blu-ray.

[Piccolo Daimao]

I'd like to see Cristopher Nolan do a Dragon Ball Z film either from Saiyan, Freeza or Cell's arc, but it'd be a dark, short of comedy and serious.

That would lose the essence of Dragon Ball, though. Even in the most serious of arcs, such as the Piccolo Daimaou, Freeza and Cell arcs, you've still got some light-hearted tone in there, even if it's just little jokes about a zombie Kuririn, or the Ginyuu Special-Squad, or Gokuu and Gohan relaxing in the 10 days before the Cell Games.

Don't get me wrong; Christopher Nolan's a great director, but I don't think his style is at all right for DB.

[Super Sayian Prime]

I'd like to see Cristopher Nolan do a Dragon Ball Z film either from Saiyan, Freeza or Cell's arc, but it'd be a dark, short of comedy and serious.

Loved watching Dark Knight and Batman Begins on Blu-ray.

That might just be the worst combination possible. Get a director who's known for dark, grounded stories, and isn't that good at directing action direct an over the top colourful martial arts epic? Uh, no thanks.

[Chuquita]

I'm not very director-savvy, but my number one wish for any reboot would be for a writer who has an excellent grasp of the characters and can believably write them in a recognizable way. I want to be able to watch the movie and go "Yeah, that's how so-and-so would react to that." or "That sounds like what he or she would say."

In-character characters; that would be great.

[StarRot]

Guillermo Del Toro - I know it will never happen but I would love to see Del Toro handle Dragon Ball. The guy has a great art direction and all of his films were great in my opinion (Expect for Mimic but even Guillermo Del Toro admits it was a bad film). He has good experience with action movies and knows how to handle characters with movies like Hellboy 1-2 and Blade II.

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, that name popped into my head instantly. For exactly the same reasons.

I want it to happen so bad.

[Hellspawn28]

I'm not a Michael Bay fan, but an action over story Dragon Ball film wouldn't be a terrible thing. Just not to the extent of Bay.

I don't want Bay to be apart of Dragon Ball at all since all of his movies are all flash and no substance. While I did liked The Rock, Armageddon (Guilty Pleasure) and the first Transformers movie but I would imagine that his DB movie would be just bad as Dragon Ball Evolution, if not worst. Seeing what he plans to do with the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and how fans got angry at him for the new creative changes then I would imagine that he would be worst then James Wong.

This one I disagree on. He isn't a great director, but Mummy 1 and 2, and Rise of Cobra I could definitely see a Dragon Ball film in that 'style' working.

Don't forget to add Brett Ratner to the blacklist. We don't need to see Chris Tucker as Krillin.

While I did enjoy the first two Mummy movies but I rather not have him direct a DB movie since he never directed any good critically speaking other then the 1994 Jungle Book film. Not to mention that the first GI Joe movie did butcher the G.I. Joe mythos and GI Joe fans hated the movie just as much as Dragon Ball fans hated DBE. I did forget to add Brett Ratner seeing how awful X-Men 3 was.

[kemuri07]

His Star Trek film 'spits on ground' was as much Star Trek as Dragon Ball Evolution was Dragon Ball.

Woah!!! Dem be fighting words. Of course, this isn't exactly a movie thread (I personally think an "everything else" section for this site would do absolute wonders), but I don't think I can agree with that since, despite how you feel about it, Abrams rendition of Star Trek is hell of a lot more respectful of its source material (and is actually entertaining) than the shit formed to create DBE.

Honestly, and I'm kinda surprised no one has thought of it, I think the Wachowski Brothers/Siblings would be perfect for a DBZ live-action adaptation. I absolutely adored Speed Racer, and the kinetic energy and over-the-top direction of that film would be perfect for DBZ.

[the_abberration]

I would go outside the box on this one, and probably cast a foreign director.

S. Shankar (Endiran: The Robot)
Anubhav Sinha (Ra.One)

If they could be steered away from putting "music videos" in the film, gain a good grasp of the story, and receive a good effects budget, I feel they would do a passable DB movie.

Shinsuke Sato (Gantz)

He did a fairly good job with the Gantz films, so he might be able to tackle a DB movie.

Kim Tae-gyun (Volcano High)

The real one...He has a good grasp of the type of film DB should be IMO.

As for American directors, let's see:

Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300, Sucker Punch)

If he reigns in the "bullet time" effect and not over do it, he may be able to pull it off.

Kevin Smith (Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob, etc.)

Mechanical spiders aside, he is a comic book geek so maybe an anime adapted movie would be right down his alley.

But really at the end of the day I would settle on:

Joss Whedon

I feel he would be able to translate DB into a good film. He is great with dialogue. He knows how to direct a ensemble cast. He has a fairly good track record (fingers crossed for Avengers). Also, Fox loves to cancel all his projects when they garner a fanbase. He'll be perfect.

[Jackal puFF]

Edgar Wright would probably do a Dragonball movie justice. Kenneth Branagh also. They can both blend action with humor seamlessly like what they did with Scott Pilgrim vs The World and Thor. I bet Sam Raimi would be able to make Piccolo look real scary.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Edgar Wright is a brilliant idea and probably my favourite director. All three of his movies are among my favourites, with Shaun of the Dead being a contender for my favourite movie ever.

Though the main reason I love this idea is that Scott Pilgrim showed he could adapt something over the top and silly while retaining all the energy and spirit.

Stephen Chow would be another of my picks. He seems to care about faithfulness, since he backed out of both Dragonball: Evolution and The Green Hornet.

Joss Whedon is a good choice. He does a good job of balancing action and humour.

The same goes for Matthew Vaughn.

Not that he would do it, but Steven Spielberg would work if he could do it with the same sense of energy and fun he did with Tintin.

Brad Bird has started with live-action movies... I'll throw him in as well.

[MCDaveG]

Maybe I'm crazy, but Stephen Chow. I really was hyped to DBE as the first news were that he will be the director and all, but as he was turned down, I was afraid, still not knowing it will be THAT MUCH of dissaster. So I wanna see the DBE if done by Chow!

[Ashura]

A Dragonball reboot should be a children's adventure story.

Secondly, it shouldn't try to grim-dark it up like the first movie, but instead embrace the silly style of Toriyama's mechanics and pay homage to color scheme and quality of his paintings, much like the Wachowski Brothers did with Speed Racer, which, IMHO, is an underrated film. They went for 'flat' there, while with Toriyama's work it would be awesome to see a more painterly style to the color toning and beautiful vistas for backdrops.

Create a fantastical world. If you look at the Lord of the Rings films, those feels have a certain sort of tone to them as well, and an artistic use of color to boot. They were very 'green,' but the world was a character in the movie. I'd love to see a Dragonball adventure with bright blue skies.

[gohan2k]

Bryan Singer (X-Men 1&2, Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, Superman Returns, Producer of X-Men First Class)
- I really like his work, especially the first two X-Men movies which were excellent adaptations, plus he managed to deal with a lot of characters well and Dragonball has A LOT of characters!

Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men: First Class)
- Again because he's done good adaptations and is good with multiple characters. He also can do humour well and isn't afraid of gore if necessary.

Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, Upcoming Superman reboot)
- Almost just because it'd be awesome visually. Imagine the fight scenes!!

But I also agree on Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams and Brad Bird

Definite Blacklist: Brett Ratner (he ruined X-Men 3), Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space), M. Night Shyamalan (The Last Airbender, The Happening)

[Gotham22]

I'd like to see Cristopher Nolan do a Dragon Ball Z film either from Saiyan, Freeza or Cell's arc, but it'd be a dark, short of comedy and serious.

Loved watching Dark Knight and Batman Begins on Blu-ray.

Sorry but I really don't want to see too realistic DB/Z world. I like his batman films and can't wait for the last one from him but a lot of the realism blocks a lot of fantasy stuff that could have been used.

[NzK]

I wouldn't mind seeing a Dragon Ball film adaptation in the same style that Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg employed for Tintin, I think it'd work well (even though it wouldn't be live-action). And if we factor in Jackson's crew at Weta Studios, the results would be more than satisfactory, I'd imagine.

As for other directors...Quentin Tarantino, perhaps? The man has a wide palette for pop culture, and certainly knows how to construct a gripping action sequence or two. Throw in the fact that Dragon Ball is of Japanese origin, and I think he would give it the respect it deserves. I'm thinking of the amount of detail he paid to the Hattori Hanzo scenes in Kill Bill, particularly. But ultimately, his vision of the story would probably be a lot different than what most of us would expect, though. (not that it would necessarily be a bad thing)

J.J. Abrams would be an interesting choice, but I'm not sure if he would do it. I know he and Damon Lindelof are huge Trek buffs (there's reference after reference to Star Trek throughout Lost) hence why they worked together on the film. He may have an interest in Dragon Ball, but I don't think so.

There's also Keishi Ohtomo (who is directing the live-action Rurouni Kenshin film) and judging by the trailer, he may be a good candidate for a DB film. Having said that, RK and DB are two very different narratives in two very different environments.

[MarcFBR]

J.J. Abrams would be an interesting choice, but I'm not sure if he would do it. I know he and Damon Lindelof are huge Trek buffs (there's reference after reference to Star Trek throughout Lost) hence why they worked together on the film. He may have an interest in Dragon Ball, but I don't think so.

Abrams wasn't much of a Trek fan. You are thinking of Orci and Kurtzman (and Lindelof as you mentioned.)


I think the main issue regarding this thread thus far. It's largely turned into 'which directors person a likes, and person b likes these directors' rather than directors who would actually do well by the material.


It's like, I love Tarantino, Singer and Del Toro, but no. It isn't the type of material I imagine would match their sensibilities.

Kevin Smith... love him. But he isn't an action director. He's done mild action at times, and openly admitted it isn't his thing.


There is also the issue of people ignoring that adaptions will inherently change things.

I don't think Ratner would do a great job, but I believe that based on his style of directing. Not on how much it sticks to the original. Sticking to the original is important... to a point.

Quite a few people named Edgar Wright. Great choice. But if you want him to be slavish in sticking to the original, why use Edgar Wright? The changes and sensibilities he would bring are part of why you would want him. He didn't stick to the comics with Scott Pilgrim. I wouldn't expect him to here either (and some of my favorite things were changed from the comics, but were necessary changes to do a tight, well made film.)

[gohan2k]

Yeah I don't imagine Del Toro or Tarantino would have any interest in doing a Dragonball movie

I don't think it's impossible to imagine Bryan Singer might be interested though - He has done both Superman and X-Men.

I think honestly though there will be a point where kids who grew up watching Dragonball will have become established directors and then a film will almost definitely be made, if it hasn't been done before.