2026 Dragon Ball Predictions

[Hellspawn28]

Dragon Ball Super the anime and manga still won't return in 2026

[Dragmobot12]

I want this to happen.

Spoiler:

Posted by someone on Fanverse yesterday, dunno if real, but kinda impressive, jfl. Hope it's real.

[CodeOfMe]

Posted by someone on Fanverse yesterday, dunno if real, but kinda impressive, jfl. Hope it's real.

I don't want to be the guy going "um, actually" here, but, like, we gotta be for real for a second here. Ignoring Taika Waititi for a second, Takao Koyama hasn't written anything in twenty years (he's credited for some Kai stuff, but I'm decently sure that's just 'cause he wrote scripts for the original Z), and I doubt he'd be specifically brought back for a remake and have his name up there in bold letters when the average consumer has no idea who he is in the first place. Also, I assume this (fake) poster is for a hypothetical remake? Why else would Toei's logo be there? They have no reason to be involved in a live action adaptation. But if it is for a remake, then why would Taiki Waititi, a New Zealand filmmaker who has nothing to do with Dragon Ball, be a part of the staff? (OK, on second thought, that isn't actually too hard to believe.)

And if it is for a movie adaptation, then why would Koyama and Iyoku be hired? If they have Waititi involved, I assume they would also go for more generic "Hollywood" writers. Also, is Iyoku even a traditional writer? I was under the impression that he was involved more via board meetings to narrow down the general outline of the stories rather than an actual writer who handles scenes, dialogue, etc. The Dragon Ball wiki refers to him as a "planning coordinator," which seems fitting.

I don't know why i'm reading so deeply into a fan-made poster which someone probably edited in like five minutes just to fool some people on the internet. I didn't even mention the absurdity of Toei, Shueisha, and Iyoku (of Capsule Corp. Tokyo) resolving their differences and coming together to make a live action Dragon Ball film. Nor did I mention how odd it is that the standard Dragon Ball anime logo is used instead of a unique new logo. I also didn't mention how strange it is that a poster was made and hung on a wall before any sort of announcement/press release—and if this poster did somehow exist, why would people be allowed to photograph it and leak it before the official announcement? Why is the poster cracked and old-looking? Really, there's just so much wrong with this image.

[Hellspawn28]

Anyone who is expecting the rest of the Super manga to be adapted is probably going to be let down.

[PowerPhantom245]

I want this to happen.

Spoiler:

Posted by someone on Fanverse yesterday, dunno if real, but kinda impressive, jfl. Hope it's real.

It looks fake and AI to me.
Although, Taika Waititi would be an interesting director for live action movie; he does know how to blend comedy with action, like Thor Ragnarok and Jojo Rabbit.
I would prefer James Gunn to direct it, even though he's busy with DC.

[Dragmobot12]

Posted by someone on Fanverse yesterday, dunno if real, but kinda impressive, jfl. Hope it's real.

I don't want to be the guy going "um, actually" here, but, like, we gotta be for real for a second here. Ignoring Taika Waititi for a second, Takao Koyama hasn't written anything in twenty years (he's credited for some Kai stuff, but I'm decently sure that's just 'cause he wrote scripts for the original Z), and I doubt he'd be specifically brought back for a remake and have his name up there in bold letters when the average consumer has no idea who he is in the first place. Also, I assume this (fake) poster is for a hypothetical remake? Why else would Toei's logo be there? They have no reason to be involved in a live action adaptation. But if it is for a remake, then why would Taiki Waititi, a New Zealand filmmaker who has nothing to do with Dragon Ball, be a part of the staff? (OK, on second thought, that isn't actually too hard to believe.)

And if it is for a movie adaptation, then why would Koyama and Iyoku be hired? If they have Waititi involved, I assume they would also go for more generic "Hollywood" writers. Also, is Iyoku even a traditional writer? I was under the impression that he was involved more via board meetings to narrow down the general outline of the stories rather than an actual writer who handles scenes, dialogue, etc. The Dragon Ball wiki refers to him as a "planning coordinator," which seems fitting.

I don't know why i'm reading so deeply into a fan-made poster which someone probably edited in like five minutes just to fool some people on the internet. I didn't even mention the absurdity of Toei, Shueisha, and Iyoku (of Capsule Corp. Tokyo) resolving their differences and coming together to make a live action Dragon Ball film. Nor did I mention how odd it is that the standard Dragon Ball anime logo is used instead of a unique new logo. I also didn't mention how strange it is that a poster was made and hung on a wall before any sort of announcement/press release—and if this poster did somehow exist, why would people be allowed to photograph it and leak it before the official announcement? Why is the poster cracked and old-looking? Really, there's just so much wrong with this image.

Honestly, I think you're getting too deep into this, there's nothing transcending about two boomers sitting on a bench and writing a live-action story of the OG Dragon Ball, it's not like it's gonna be a 2 hour movie with a 200 billion budget, for the start it's probable something down to earth and simple 1 hour movie adventure, might not even go into the King Piccolo arc.

[FinalForumPodcast]

Every year, I say: "What I would LIKE is a proper HD remaster of the show in the proper aspect ratio with all relevant versions of the soundtrack (ie: dub, dub score, original language, original score, etc) as a definitive release of the show onto physical media (blu ray or 4K)"
And every year it doesn't happen, because it probably never will.


I'm not overly optimistic about anything for 2026. The tensions between Akio Iyoku and Shueisha remain as far as we all know and that puts a real limit on what anyone is willing to do.

Maybe we get a promo short or special or MAYBE a movie, but with Dragon Ball's rights under dispute, we're in a holding pattern and I don't expect anything more than repackaging of what's already available.

[PowerPhantom245]

Honestly, I think you're getting too deep into this, there's nothing transcending about two boomers sitting on a bench and writing a live-action story of the OG Dragon Ball, it's not like it's gonna be a 2 hour movie with a 200 billion budget, for the start it's probable something down to earth and simple 1 hour movie adventure, might not even go into the King Piccolo arc.

I think more than enough time has passed to warrant another attempt of live action movie.
We have seen surge of good live action adaptation than bad in recent years, so it might have chance.
Though to be fair, Dragon Ball might be the most difficult manga to get adapted on live action; I think it could work better as streaming series like Netflix One Piece.

Every year, I say: "What I would LIKE is a proper HD remaster of the show in the proper aspect ratio with all relevant versions of the soundtrack (ie: dub, dub score, original language, original score, etc) as a definitive release of the show onto physical media (blu ray or 4K)"
And every year it doesn't happen, because it probably never will.

Which is really shame, since original Dragon Ball is one of the most important and influential anime ever made, that deserve pristine and boutique release, with proper care for remastering.
I can guarantee that if Toei ever announce that, the pre-order would be insane, selling out within minutes.