So are we biased?

[dbgtFO]

Well... I'm black and I'm sure I'll be weirded out by a black Goku. When I was a kid seeing DaBlack Goku website I was going crazy, it was cool. But honestly the only person I'd every say would make a great live action Goku is Jackie Chan... and he's pretty old now. Or that guy from The Protector maybe, since he's a darker tone of skin (aesthetically speaking).

That's something interesting that I haven't thought of before! A younger Jackie Chan playing Goku. I'm sure Toriyama would be a fan!

That's actually who Toriyama himself preferred, when the idea of a live-action movie was brought up.

[DoomieDoomie911]

Well... I'm black and I'm sure I'll be weirded out by a black Goku. When I was a kid seeing DaBlack Goku website I was going crazy, it was cool. But honestly the only person I'd every say would make a great live action Goku is Jackie Chan... and he's pretty old now. Or that guy from The Protector maybe, since he's a darker tone of skin (aesthetically speaking).

That's something interesting that I haven't thought of before! A younger Jackie Chan playing Goku. I'm sure Toriyama would be a fan!

That's actually who Toriyama himself preferred, when the idea of a live-action movie was brought up.

Really? I've always known that Toriyama was a huge fan of Jackie Chan, but I didn't know that this was actually brought up before.

[DemonRin]

Technically you could get away with making Goku different I suppose since he's an Alien, but my default in my head was that everyone should be Asian, Goku included...

I mean, Dragonball just has a uniquely Asian flair to it, what with being based on a Chinese fable, so it just always made sense to me that in this uniquely Asian setting, everyone should be Asian lol.

[Attitudefan]

Technically you could get away with making Goku different I suppose since he's an Alien, but my default in my head was that everyone should be Asian, Goku included...

I mean, Dragonball just has a uniquely Asian flair to it, what with being based on a Chinese fable, so it just always made sense to me that in this uniquely Asian setting, everyone should be Asian lol.

I actually always imagined Bulma to be Caucasian because she comes from West City (as a reference to the Western World, like the USA), and dresses very differently than Chichi who is very traditionally East Asian looking (specifically her wardrobe). I always thought it was Toriyama being a bit cheeky about it all.

[SSJ Human]

Well... I'm black and I'm sure I'll be weirded out by a black Goku. When I was a kid seeing DaBlack Goku website I was going crazy, it was cool. But honestly the only person I'd every say would make a great live action Goku is Jackie Chan... and he's pretty old now. Or that guy from The Protector maybe, since he's a darker tone of skin (aesthetically speaking).

That's something interesting that I haven't thought of before! A younger Jackie Chan playing Goku. I'm sure Toriyama would be a fan!

That's actually who Toriyama himself preferred, when the idea of a live-action movie was brought up.

Too bad we don't have a time machine for Cell to hijack after we get the younger Jackie Chan from the past to play Goku.

[Alex9196]

I wouldn't want Goku to be played by a black guy, or by anyone who doesn't look very similar to him.

For example the actor from db evolution looked nothing like Goku.

That's one reason why I dont want a live action movie for db. I dont think they can do it justice.

[Lord Beerus]

Considering Dragon Ball has always had a strong Asian influence and oriental flair about it, you can't really blame fans for wanting Asian actors to play most of the cast, with the exception of Bulma, who seem much more western.

[Alex9196]

I wonder how Beerus and Whis would look in live action

[Lord Beerus]

I wonder how Beerus and Whis would look in live action

Beerus is practically impossible to translate well into live action. Unless there is really, and I mean really good CGI and motion capture team behind it. Whis would be much less difficult to good in live action. But it would still take quite a bit of effort.

[Hellspawn28]

Characters like Freeza, Cell, Buu and Beerus can always be done with motion capture.

[Lord Beerus]

Characters like Freeza, Cell, Buu and Beerus can always be done with motion capture.

But it would take a huge budget for it done right. I'm talking $100 million, at least.

[dbgtFO]

That's actually who Toriyama himself preferred, when the idea of a live-action movie was brought up.

Really? I've always known that Toriyama was a huge fan of Jackie Chan, but I didn't know that this was actually brought up before.

Yeah, here http://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/ ... oriyama-qa

If Dragon Ball were to be made into live-action, what sort of casting would you want?

This is something I also thought about a little bit at the time of that Hollywood live-action version, which came out "incredibly amazing", but in the end, nobody came to mind. If it were back when Jackie Chan was still young, I suppose I would have thought nobody could play Goku but him.

[Hellspawn28]

Characters like Freeza, Cell, Buu and Beerus can always be done with motion capture.

But it would take a huge budget for it done right. I'm talking $100 million, at least.

True. DB live action can be done with a large budget which is not going to happen anytime soon. It's still too risky as Evolution is still recent and fresh in people's minds. Give it another 10 years at least.

[Lord Beerus]

Characters like Freeza, Cell, Buu and Beerus can always be done with motion capture.

But it would take a huge budget for it done right. I'm talking $100 million, at least.

True. DB live action can be done with a large budget which is not going to happen anytime soon. It's still too risky as Evolution is still recent and fresh in people's minds. Give it another 10 years at least.

It's not just the budget, though. It also depends on who is directing and writing.

[DoomieDoomie911]

Characters like Freeza, Cell, Buu and Beerus can always be done with motion capture.

But it would take a huge budget for it done right. I'm talking $100 million, at least.

True. DB live action can be done with a large budget which is not going to happen anytime soon. It's still too risky as Evolution is still recent and fresh in people's minds. Give it another 10 years at least.

I don't think we'll ever see another live action movie as long as Toriyama's alive/in charge.

[irreality]

It's not just the budget, though. It also depends on who is directing and writing.

I think the director and writing have a lot more impact than the budget. Like… I have no real complaints about the visuals and graphics for Evolution -- I like their take on capsules, I like how the dragonballs look, how ki effects work, how most of the characters look. I actually liked it when I was following the "making of" information before the movie. I think they chose good locations, and I think they made good compromises to make people look reasonably believable, except for Piccolo and his minions. But the plot was *awful*, as was the pacing and staying true to original characterizations and plot points. If they had done a simpler plot that stuck more closely to the magic of Dragon ball instead of rewriting the background and personality of every character, they might have pulled something charming off.

Like, the people doing the live action History of Trunks videos are doing an excellent job without much budget. Writing and directing are really where it is at.

[Marco Polo]

Tilda Swinton would make a mean Whis.

[Polyphase Avatron]

They could always go the Tokusatsu route for the aliens and other non-human creatures. Sure, it would look goofy, but if they embraced that goofiness it could work.

[Kaboom]

Is Goku the character black? No? Then an actor portraying him in live action shouldn't be, either.

Unless you're intentionally going for some new reinterpretation (like the New 52 version of Wally West being a black kid), then that's all there is to it. There's nothing inherently racial about it. It's simply a matter of "do they look like the character or not," and skin color is an big, obvious part of that.

[VegettoEX]

Is Goku the character black? No? Then an actor portraying him in live action shouldn't be, either.

Unless you're intentionally going for some new reinterpretation (like the New 52 version of Wally West being a black kid), then that's all there is to it. There's nothing inherently racial about it. It's simply a matter of "do they look like the character or not," and skin color is an big, obvious part of that.

I disagree with this 100%.

I'm definitely of the "Goku is not any particular race; therefore, any race can play him" camp.

And I do find it innately racist to suggest otherwise, conscious or not.