Rumor: Disney Developing New Live-Action Dragon Ball Movie With Asian Cast

[KBABZ]

Superhero comics aren't the same thing at all. They aren't one single story with a single unified continuity. It's a bunch of different takes on the same characters over decades. Approaching adapting DB is more like adapting a series of novels like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

I agree with this. I honestly think that a multiple season, long form live action TV show like Game of Thrones or Walking Dead would work better than a theatrical film.

Maybe animated too. Damn, shame we don't have one of those!

[omegacwa]

Superhero comics aren't the same thing at all. They aren't one single story with a single unified continuity. It's a bunch of different takes on the same characters over decades. Approaching adapting DB is more like adapting a series of novels like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

I agree with this. I honestly think that a multiple season, long form live action TV show like Game of Thrones or Walking Dead would work better than a theatrical film.

Maybe animated too. Damn, shame we don't have one of those!

You're funny

[WittyUsername]

The fact that it doesn’t seem like any other outlets have picked up on this story only serves to further convince me that this is just another example of WGTC talking out of their ass.

[ZeroNeonix]

I'm open to the possibility. It couldn't be any worse than Dragon Ball Evolution, right? lol

[omegacwa]

The fact that it doesn’t seem like any other outlets have picked up on this story only serves to further convince me that this is just another example of WGTC talking out of their ass.

Unfortunately this is the society we live in now. Everything is click bait and embellished to extreme degrees or just straight up made up in order to drive people to websites or videos in order to gain ad revenue. Not only is this a problem in entertainment but in the news as well when a "news outlet" picks up a minor story or incident and blows it up like it's a big deal and then everyone freaks out over it.

Case in point. We are already multiple pages into a discussion that was started by a possibly completely made up "news report".

Here another example:

"See Robert Pattinson in his batsuit!"
clicks link
"See Robert Pattinson in his batsuit fan art!"

They know damn well people didn't click the link to see fan art.

[Robo4900]

Here's how I'd pitch live action Dragon Ball...

Movie 1:
A mixture of Pilaf and Red Ribbon. Kinda like the first DB movie and the 10th anniversary movie. And like those movies, the filmmakers shouldn't be afraid to make changes if they think it makes a better movie. Just keep the core feel, the character interactions, etc.

Movie 2:
Tournament movie. Probably with Tenshinhan. Have a stinger that teases Piccolo.

Movie 3:
Piccolo movie. Covers the entire Piccolo story.

Movie 4:
Saiyan movie.

Movie 5:
Namek movie

Movie 6:
Cyborgs. Tell this one from Trunks's perspective, start off essentially doing a rewritten telling of the Trunks special, or possibly intersperse the movie with Trunks's history. End with a cliffhanger as everyone is licking their wounds from having failed to beat the cyborgs, and the other time machine has shown up.

Movie 7:
Cell. Tell this one from Gohan's perspective, make it his story. The story of him essentially growing up.

Movie 8:
Boo. The whole thing. The original Boo arc was a huge mess, so streamline/change it as needed.

And that's the entire original manga, adapted into a way that'd work really well for a series of movies over the period of roughly a decade.
It'd probably be a bit like Harry Potter; you'd probably end up going through a few different directors, and the mood of the thing would subtly change as the series goes on, but it'd ultimately be one cohesive story following one cast of characters, released over about ten years.

[KBABZ]

Case in point. We are already multiple pages into a discussion that was started by a possibly completely made up "news report".

I don't think anyone is under the illusion here that this is ACTUALLY happening based on that "news" item. Dragon Ball is a tough nut to crack when it comes to how you adapt such a varied and long-form multi-arc story into a series of live-action movies, and so it's ripe for discussion.

I'm open to the possibility. It couldn't be any worse than Dragon Ball Evolution, right? lol

You haven't seen the unofficial Chinese Dragon Ball movie, have you?

[RedRibbonSoldier#42]

Technically, Infinity War was actually based on Infinity Gauntlet. I’m pretty sure they just named it the former because it sounds cooler.

If by "based on" you mean they both have a person named Thanos and an object called the Infinity Gauntlet but are otherwise radically different from start to finish.

[WittyUsername]

Technically, Infinity War was actually based on Infinity Gauntlet. I’m pretty sure they just named it the former because it sounds cooler.

If by "based on" you mean they both have a person named Thanos and an object called the Infinity Gauntlet but are otherwise radically different from start to finish.

Both stories involve Thanos wiping out half of all life in the universe, both stories have someone warning Doctor Strange that “Thanos is coming” and both stories end with Thanos on a farm. I never said it lifted the story of the comics wholesale, but it clearly took some inspiration from it.

Anyway, we probably shouldn’t continue getting off-topic here.

[Hellspawn28]

Superhero comics aren't the same thing at all. They aren't one single story with a single unified continuity. It's a bunch of different takes on the same characters over decades. Approaching adapting DB is more like adapting a series of novels like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

You have superhero comics that have one single story with a single unified continuity. Look at Watchmen, Hellboy, Spawn, etc. for example.

[ABED]

Superhero comics aren't the same thing at all. They aren't one single story with a single unified continuity. It's a bunch of different takes on the same characters over decades. Approaching adapting DB is more like adapting a series of novels like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

You have superhero comics that have one single story with a single unified continuity. Look at Watchmen, Hellboy, Spawn, etc. for example.

Watchmen was a single graphic novel. It's a self contained story. I haven't read Spawn or Hellboy so I can't speak to those, but you know what I mean. Generally speaking, superhero comics are not all in the same continuity from when they first began publishing. The Superman of 2019 is not the same Superman from 1938.

[JulieYBM]

We could always just combine the plots of various arcs, I suppose. Personally, I would combine Movie #3 and Movie #17. Maybe something like this?

Spoiler:

Deep in the mountains there once lived a wise and respected martial artist, Son Gohan. Son Gohan lived with his monkey-tailed grandson, whom he named Son Gokuu, and taught him martial arts. One day, Gohan and Gokuu traveled deeper into the mountains on a training mission. Gokuu has trained diligently over the years but it becomes clearer and clearer to Gohan that his grandson’s physical capabilities are quickly surpassing that of the normal human. Wishing to see just how far Gokuu can go, Gohan hopes that teaching him martial arts will help turn the boy into the strongest in history.

After a diligent day’s training, Gohan and Gokuu enjoy a coyote over campfire. Gohan tells Gokuu stories of his past adventures as a young man, including how he acquired that little orange stone ball with the four stars on them. Gokuu is mystified by the idea of there being someone in the world stronger than Grandpa and makes up his mind to one day surpass them. Gohan laughs and praises Gokuu for his earnest nature. Unfortunately, the festivities are interrupted by the appearance of a full moon. To the shock of Gohan something happens to his boy at the sight of the full moon.

Son Gokuu awakens the next morning in his futon, beside his rather haggard grandpa. Son Gohan bequeaths to Gokuu the Four-Star Dragon Ball and asks of him to see the world and find his fortune (in the figurative sense). Gokuu agrees with the last wish, his reaction to his grandfather’s passing left unrevealed.

Title Card: DRAGON BALL NO DENSETSU PART I
Opening Credits Theme (90 seconds): Great Makafushigi Adventure「GREAT魔訶不思議アドベンチャー！」
Son Gokuu leaves his home behind and sets out on his adventure, Four-Star Dragon Ball tied in a bag on his belt, traveling through the forests and mountains, fighting all sorts of wild animals along the way until he runs into a girl driving a jeep that he mistakes for a youkai.

The world of Dragon Ball is a place filled with magic, talking animal people, martial artist and superhuman abilities, sometimes all rolled into one. The world is generally divided into three major superpowers, the World Kingdom, the Mifan Empire and the recently formed Red Ribbon Army. The World Kingdom, despite its names, is actually mostly a democratic republic led by the King. The World Kingdom has strived to unite the world under a banner of peace. The war between the Red Ribbon Army and World Kingdom has raged for nearly a year as Red now tries to expand his tyranny over the main regions of the world. The Mifan Empire is an ancient empire that has ruled the eastern lands of the Dragon Ball world for centuries. Under the regime of the prior emperor there was a tentative peace but since his death and the inauguration of his naïve, young son as the new emperor the wily head advisor has sought to stoke the flames of war. The final superpower is the Red Ribbon Army, a powerful private military with a growing number of strongholds across the world. The Red Ribbon Army is led by Supreme Commander Red, a short man who seeks to gather the Dragon Balls and use them for his own means.

The Ribbon War has seen much of the planet engulfed in terror with only main territories of the World Kingdom, the Mifan Empire, and the deep mountains left unscathed. There is a creeping sense that this will not remain so for very much longer The Red Ribbon Army has begun to hunt for the Dragon Balls in hopes that they can gain the advantage in the war.

Blooma, a genius sixteen year old girl, accidentally hits Son Gokuu with her car one day while searching for the Dragon Balls. Gokuu and Blooma become acquainted and Blooma tries to convince Gokuu to give the Four-Star Dragon Ball, his memento of his 'jii-chan', to her. Blooma makes lewd offers of touching her person in exchange for the Four-Star Dragon Ball that ‘Son-kun’ owns but is rebuffed (“Why would I want to touch your dirty butt?” “My butt is NOT dirty!”). Fearful of losing the Ball for good, Blooma hastily uses the belongings in Gokuu’s hut to piece together that he is a martial artist and that if he wants to expand his skills he needs to see the world. Gokuu reveals he was already on his way, so he doesn’t see much reason to go with Blooma. The genius sixteen year old girl finds herself back at square one and schemes to get back on track.

Hot on Blooma’s trail, Captain Silver and his men attack Gokuu's home in search of Gokuu’s Four-Star Dragon Ball and Gokuu shows off his incredible strength by defeating them. Remembering his grandpa’s words to be nice to cute (re: cute) girls, Gokuu agrees to travel with Blooma to find the other Dragon Balls and protect her while testing his strength against the rest of the Red Ribbon Army. Additionally, Gokuu ponders whether Blooma is ‘cute’, given he’s had no experience in the subject before.

Blooma takes the duo to a city to help build up their crew; they're going to need one if they're going to aggressively up their game against the Red Ribbon Army and get to the Dragon Balls first. This city is nothing like the shiny, untouched metropolis Blooma comes from. Although it is seen as a ‘neutral ground’ soldiers from both sides come to the city to unwind in as rowdy a fashion as possible. The city is heavily strained by the war and has fallen mostly into ruin. Gokuu and Blooma learn of stories of a fearsome shape-shifting demon, Oolong. Oolong runs the city’s criminal underground world and even has his own famed harem. Meanwhile, a monk named Kuririn has come to the big city to try and prove himself after constant humiliation from his upperclassmen at the Oren Doujou.

Blooma is kidnapped by Oolong’s men for use in his harem when separated from Gokuu. Kuririn, seeing this as a chance to look cool, springs into action. Gokuu also jumps to Blooma’s defense. Gokuu and Kuririn break into Oolong’s mansion and free Blooma. It turns out Oolong was just a weakling who could transform into fearsome-appearing monsters. The only reason the girls he ‘took’ for his harem stuck around was to maintain the illusion of Oolong’s strength. If he kept his power they could continue living comfortable lives. With his influence now gone, Oolong is chased out of town by upset locals. Blooma forces Oolong to come along with her as payback for nearly having her forced into his harem. Kuririn also joins up, seeing that if he fights alongside Gokuu he might be able to make a name for himself fighting the Red Ribbon Army.

The Mifan Empire is the third superpower in the world. Ruled by the young and naïve Emperor Chaozu, the Mifan Empire is really run by the head advisor, the Tsuru-sen’nin. The Tsuru-sen’nin trained Chaozu and his closest friend and body guard, Tenshinhan, in the martial arts since they were young. Having built a wealth of trust, the Tsuru-sen’nin is in actuality scheming to take over the empire and perhaps even arranged the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Chaozu’s parents. General Blue of the Red Ribbon Army acquires an audience with Emperor Chaozu and requests passage from Mifan waters so as to attack the World Kingdom where it is most vulnerable: the east coast. The Red Ribbon Army has the most advanced submarine fleet in the world and will surely be able to deal extensive damage to the one coast now protected by only a ‘ghost crew’ fleet. The Tsuru-sen’nin manipulates Chaozu into accepting the plan. That night Chaozu has a nightmare of something terrible occurring and telepathically cries out for Tenshinhan to come to his side. Tenshinhan consoles him despite being unsure of the future or the actions his master is taking.

In the desert, Blooma and gang meet Yamcha the Desert Bandit and Pu-erh. Yamcha is promised by Captain Violet (who is wearing a disguise to hide the fact that she is a woman) a large amount of money should he steal the Dragon Balls from Gokuu and kill him. Yamcha proves a fearsome equal of both Gokuu and Kuririn and is only chased off when he meets Blooma up close. Overhearing about the Dragon Balls’ ability to grant wishes, Yamcha vows to acquire them and wish away his fear of girls.

Blooma and company visit Mount Fry-Pan next. Mount Fry-Pan is a shire under the rule of the Gyuu-Maou, a loyal warlord under the Mifan Empire. The Tsuru-sen’nin allows the Gyuu-Maou to pillage the surrounding Mifan lands so long as he remains loyal to him. Emperor Chaozu is unaware that such an agreement exists.

Meanwhile, Yamcha and Pu-erh are hot on the trail of Son Gokuu and friends. The desert bandit comes across a young girl being chased by Red Ribbon Army soldiers. The girl kills the soldiers but confuses Yamcha for one of them. Fearful of having ‘lewd’ things done to her, Chi-Chi attacks Yamcha. Yamcha outwits her and knocks her unconscious. When asked by Pu-erh why he was not afraid of Chi-Chi, Yamcha replies “I’m no lolicon.”

Meanwhile, Gokuu and Kuririn are thrashed about by the Gyuu-Maou, who only spares them once Gokuu uses his Nyoi-bou. The Gyuu-Maou is surprised to find that he is Son Gohan’s grandson and spares their lives. The Gyuu-Maou reveals that he trained with his grandpa, Son Gohan, under the Muten Roushi. Gokuu agrees to find Chi-Chi, daughter of the Gyuu-Maou, and help her continue her journey to find the Muten Roushi and seek his help in quelling the fires engulfing his castle. Tao Pai-Pai proposes the death of the Gyuu-Maou due to his previous blunders after letting his state-issued rampaging get out of hand.

Gokuu finds Chi-Chi, who has recently been knocked unconscious by Yamcha. Chi-Chi instantly proposes to Gokuu. Gokuu assumes ‘marriage’ is merely some sort of food, so he accepts the proposal.

Tao Pai-Pai, an assassin advising for the Red Ribbon Army suggests having Captain Yellow lead an all-out assault on Mount Fry-Pan to retrieve the Dragon Ball located there. Captain Violet wishes to use her stealth corps to retrieve the Dragon Ball with minimal political damage but Tao Pai-Pai asserts that the Gyuu-Maou’s death would mean the loss of a powerful alley for the empire and can be written off as exterminating a known pillager and thug. Tao Pai-Pai also knows that the brash and foolish Captain Yellow is much easier to manipulate than the cunning Captain Violet. Supreme Commander Red agrees with Tao Pai-Pai and orders that Captain Yellow lead a full squadron of fighter planes and heavy armor tanks to destroy Mount Fry-Pan and acquire the Dragon Ball in the area. Yellow launches an all-out assault on Fry-Pan while Kuririn and even Yamcha help to defend the castle and townspeople.

Gokuu and Chi-Chi meet the Muten Roushi, a perverted old man who lives on a tiny island with a talking sea turtle named Umigame (sea turtle). Learning that his old student has been a very bad boy, the Muten Roushi agrees to go give him a spanking.

After arriving at Mount Fry-Pan, the Muten Roushi uses his Kamehame-Ha to obliterate Captain Yellow’s fighter jets and tanks. Figuring “Might as well do the mountain, too” the Muten Roushi aims the tail end of his wave at the Gyuu-Maou’s castle and accidentally blows it up, forgetting to lower his power output after destroying all of Yellow’s tanks and fighter jets. Yellow, having narrowly dodge the stream of ki, snaps up Chi-Chi to take as a hostage. Gokuu uses his own makeshift Kamehame-Ha and shoots down Yellow, much to the dismay of the Muten Roushi.

The Muten Roushi gives the Gyuu-Maou a stern talking to for using his might to pillage. The Gyuu-Maou apologizes and promises to recommit himself to a proper life as a martial artist. The Gyuu-Maou is ecstatic to learn that Gokuu is set to marry Chi-Chi while his friends are bewildered by the development. At the exigency of her father, Chi-Chi joins the ever-growing group led by Blooma.

Back in Mifan, Tenshinhan learns of the attack on the Gyuu-Maou and questions his teacher as to whether or not it was necessary to launch an attack on a Mifan territory, apparently of Tao Pai-Pai playing the Red Ribbon Army. The Tsuru-sen’nin calls the move a “strategic sacrifice to ensure the Empire’s survival.” Tenshinhan wonders to himself why his master said ‘Empire’s survival’ and not ‘Emperor’s survival’.

Blooma and friends head to the North to acquire the next Dragon Ball, Yamcha and Pu-erh still in secret pursuit. Learning that the Dragon Ball is somewhere inside of Muscle Tower the gang decides to storm the lair. Yamcha and Pu-erh insert themselves into the storming party with little complaint. As the tower begins to fall General White begrudgingly calls for backup. Tao Pai-Pai volunteers to go himself as traveling by a flying pole he throws will be the fastest way to acquire the Dragon Ball found by General White.

Tao Pai-Pai arrives on the scene. Yamcha provides exposition for why Tao Pai-Pai is one mean dude. Tao Pai-Pai kills Artificial Human #8 for betraying the Red Ribbon Army. Gokuu attacks in a rage but is defeated and nearly killed by Tao Pai-Pai’s Dodon-Pa. Tao Pai-Pai slaps Yamcha, Kuririn and Chi-Chi aside and takes the Dragon Radar from Blooma. Using it the assassin finds the spot where Blooma hid the backpack with the Dragon Balls and returns to the Red Ribbon Army headquarters. Luckily, Gokuu reveals that the Four-Star Ball he kept in his shirt protected him from the nigh fatal Dodon-Pa and has not fallen into enemy hands. Yamcha suggests that the gang go to the Muten Roushi’s house to hide and recover. Blooma triggers the failsafe in her Dragon Radar, insuring that her more accurate radar will not be used to locate their group.

At Kame House the Muten Roushi agrees to train Gokuu, Kuririn, Yamcha and Chi-Chi to prepare them for future confrontations with the Red Ribbon Army but first they, especially Gokuu, must rest and heal.

Back in the Mifan Empire, Chaozu learns that the war is only getting worse. Chaozu has not sanctioned any Mifan Empire military involvement in the war so far and plans to keep it that way. During a council meeting, Chaozu suggests leading a peace summit to try and end the violence. The Tsuru-sen’nin sees this as his opportunity and publically supports the idea amongst the other councilors. Unbeknownst to most, Tao Pai-Pai is actually the younger brother of the Tsuru-sen’nin. The Tsuru-sen’nin has Tao Pai-Pai delay his hunt for Son Gokuu’s group and convince Supreme Commander Red to agree to a meeting between the leaders of the three great superpowers. Tao Pai-Pai has grown quite a lot in stature within the Red Ribbon Army thanks to his sound military advice and his acquiring of six of the Dragon Balls. Tao Pai-Pai offers that the peace talks will be a nice distraction from the planned naval assault by General Blue through the Mifan waters, too. Red, blinded by greed and the opportunity to turn the peace talks into a discussion of the terms of surrender for the World Kingdom, agrees hastily to the plan. The Tsuru-sen’nin knows little would be able to pry Tenshinhan from the emperor’s side, so he assigns him the most important of missions: complete Tao Pai-Pai’s mission of finding Son Gokuu and the last Dragon Ball.

The day of the peace talks are soon arriving. Tao Pai-Pai discreetly hires Lunch, a blonde female arms dealer and thief, to rig the explosives at the hotel where the peace talks are to be held. The three leaders and their most loyal cabinet members attend the peace talks, barring Tenshinhan. The plan goes off without a hitch and the three leaders and their cabinet members are blown to kingdom come at the exact moment General Blue’s fleet begins its attack. The World King is dead and the fleet protecting the World Kingdom’s back side is sunk. Blue’s forces quickly capture the eastern coast while the World King’s armies hustle to strengthen their backside in face of a pincer attack now from both the west and east. Tao Pai-Pai paints himself as a hero who tried to save Supreme Commander Red. Combined with his record so far, Tao Pai-Pai easily leaps ahead of Adjutant Black and becomes the new Supreme Commander of the Red Ribbon Army. The Tsuru-sen’nin uses the attack as the perfect excuse to have Mifan openly enter the war while a shattered Tenshinhan contemplates what to do next.

To be continued…

Who knows? Hmm...

[WittyUsername]

Superhero comics aren't the same thing at all. They aren't one single story with a single unified continuity. It's a bunch of different takes on the same characters over decades. Approaching adapting DB is more like adapting a series of novels like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.

You have superhero comics that have one single story with a single unified continuity. Look at Watchmen, Hellboy, Spawn, etc. for example.

Watchmen was a single graphic novel. It's a self contained story. I haven't read Spawn or Hellboy so I can't speak to those, but you know what I mean. Generally speaking, superhero comics are not all in the same continuity from when they first began publishing. The Superman of 2019 is not the same Superman from 1938.

Technically, most of Marvel’s characters are in the same continuity as when they first began, since the main Marvel continuity takes place in the 616 universe. Of course, that continuity has been subject to numerous retcons.

[ABED]

You have superhero comics that have one single story with a single unified continuity. Look at Watchmen, Hellboy, Spawn, etc. for example.

Watchmen was a single graphic novel. It's a self contained story. I haven't read Spawn or Hellboy so I can't speak to those, but you know what I mean. Generally speaking, superhero comics are not all in the same continuity from when they first began publishing. The Superman of 2019 is not the same Superman from 1938.

Technically, most of Marvel’s characters are in the same continuity as when they first began, since the main Marvel continuity takes place in the 616 universe. Of course, that continuity has been subject to numerous retcons.

The argument wasn't about technicalities. The fact of the matter is that US Superhero comics are OVERWHELMINGLY (the ones they make franchises out of) ones that have a bunch of different stories with differing degrees of continuity, origins, and characterizations, that adaptations can pick and choose which elements to adapt. DB is one story with a single lengthy continuity where the characters are how Toriyama defined them and with the exception of Bardock, have the one origin he gave them.

[MyVisionity]

I agree that the multiple continuities is really more of a DC thing than a Marvel thing, and even then only amounts to so much.

I think the difference between Dragon Ball and traditional American comic books has more to do with the length of publication and the format/structural nature. DB only went for like ten years, while Marvel/DC stuff was published for forty, fifty, sixty years before films were made. DB is serialized and continuous, while Marvel/DC alternate from telling single issue stories to multi-issue arcs to years long sagas, and the narrative structure and characterization much more varied and flexible. I don't think having different creative teams coming and going or different continuities is all that significant in the context of adapting manga/anime versus comic books.

[ABED]

It's VERY important. Every writer brings their own voice and experiences to what they are writing. Miller's take on Batman is vastly different from Scott Snyder's take whose take is very different from Gardner Fox's. You're telling me that adapting something like that isn't very different than adapting a single author's work? In the former situation, adaptation is much more open to interpretation and changes than the latter. Then there's the issue of popularity. The more popular, the greater the expectation of a more faithful adaptation.

[MyVisionity]

Frank Miller's "take" on Batman doesn't amount to much more than Y1 and DKR, and those stories have little to do with the larger Batman mythos, so I can see why it would be considered "vastly different" from other creators.

I guess I was thinking more about Marvel's history in terms or writer/artists, where creators come and go, but oftentimes the characterization remains the same or changes only slightly. The characters might develop, and the plots might change, but that's not exactly a reflection of one author's personal voice or experience. Or if it is, it doesn't necessarily break from what was done previously. Especially under the same editor or within the same era. DC does this too. How different was Gerry Conway's Batman from Len Wein's, and then Moench from Conway? It's not always a dramatic shift in vision from creator to creator.

So I guess you could call it important to a degree, but I don't think it matters much when you're looking at decades and decades worth of material to start with. There's already enough to worry about upfront with all of the different stories and characters to adapt. Compared to that task, adapting something like Dragon Ball would seem like a breeze, at least on the surface.

[miguelnuva1]

Assuming Disney wanted to do a Dragonball movie I would start with DBZ and Do Dragonball as Disney + show.

[Wilderness]

Ha! Disney adaptation DB movie. I'd be open for it. Probably would mean we'd get Kingdom Hearts Union X medals.

[KBABZ]

Assuming Disney wanted to do a Dragonball movie I would start with DBZ and Do Dragonball as Disney + show.

I would prefer them NOT start in the middle of the story. That's like telling someone to start with The Force Awakens.