Will there ever be a Dragon Ball series with an entirely new cast of characters?

[Anonymous Friend]

If you want Dragon Ball with a different characters bad enough, you could always...watch another show in its genre

You mean like Pirate!Goku? Ninja!Goku? Bounty Hunter!Goku?

[MuscleRobo]

If you want Dragon Ball with a different characters bad enough, you could always...watch another show in its genre

You mean like Pirate!Goku? Ninja!Goku? Bounty Hunter!Goku?

No because those all suck compared to Chef!Goku

[Wrigglything]

You guys are clearly sleeping over Sprit!Goku, Magic!Goku and Science!Goku smh.

But in all seriousness, a new cast would be interesting to follow, like how in Jojo they change main characters and settings each time, though obviously series like those are the exception rather than the rule. Because on the other hand, it could turn out like the polarising Star Wars sequels where wars not from the star kind were waged, to say the least. So there is definitely incentive to be had, but also there is just as much risk that the fanbase will devolve into those kinds of people.

[BWri]

I think that's the inevitable direction of the franchise. The main characters are already really old compared to other mega-popular manga franchises. It currently works for DB in a strangely unique way but eventually, yeah, we'll be switching it up.

I think Toei/Shueisha is already experimenting with this (as they should) with alt universe/spinoff series such as Dragon Ball Heroes and Reincarnated as Yamcha. Even the games have majorly stepped outside of the box of rehashing series events and are instead introducing player characters and alternate scenarios into the mix.

I see this question phrased different ways every so often here on Kanz, and so I always go to DBO as a good representation of what the series could look like in the future. This opening cinematic always gets me pumped for a true "new generation" and the setup of Gohan revealing ki to the rest of the world provides an interesting twist to the DB formula and mechanically adds a wider pool of combat capable characters into the mix. I also like it as a soft reboot since it gives an opportunity for more grounded battles at the start so everything isn't universe shattering, at least not right away.

That DBO cutscene always gave me some Dragon Ball x Dragon Quest x Dragon Ball Z vibes and I'm here all day for that!