So I was reading up on Dragon Ball Evolution and now I’m even more mad. Because in an alternate universe, it could have potentially gone waaay better. It’s just a long list of things that went wrong, one after the other. Toriyama had initially stated that he would have loved for Goku to be portrayed by Jackie Chan, who was also a big fan of the franchise. But at the time, Jackie was a little too old to play Goku. But honestly I think a young Jackie could have made for an amazing young adult Goku. It actually fits really well. Then it turns out, Stephan Chow was initially approached by 20th Century Fox to be asked to direct the film. For context, Stephen Chow is a legendary martial arts comedy director and actor in China. He’s known for a lot of martial arts visual comedy types of movies such as God of Cookery, Shaolin Soccer, and Kungfu Hustle. He’s even done a Journey to the West comedic adaptation before. It also turns out he was a fan of Dragon Ball just like Jackie Chan. He literally would have been the perfect director for a live action Dragon Ball movie. But he declined since he didn’t feel right directing a franchise he didn’t make. During the production of Dragon Ball Evolution, Toriyama had actually sent the producers some notes and suggestions for the movie but they were all ignored and thrown out. In other words, we live in the worst timeline. Or maybe not. Toriyama has mentioned before in interviews that he had no intention of continuing the franchise initially. But the live action Dragon Ball Evolution left such a bad taste in his mouth that he was inspired to make Dragon Ball Battle of the Gods and ended up reviving the series into Dragon Ball Super. Giving Dragon Ball fans more content to enjoy for years to come.