Dragon Ball Super: Broly is making its big US debut this week, having already generated some record profits in the overseas markets. The main draw for Dragon Ball Super‘s first movie is no doubt the one-of-a-kind action sequences that the film will deliver, but a second and equally important function of this film is retconning some loose threads of franchise mythos into one streamlined official canon.
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We had the chance to attend the Hollywood premiere of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and take some time to speak with the cast of the film’s English Dub. When it came time to speak with Beerus voice actor Jason Douglas about the future of the Dragon Ball Super franchise, Douglas let it be known that Broly is indeed a fresh start for the franchise:
“…it’s really a great step in kind of relaunching this universe, and sort of plucking a character that he already existed in kind of the large framework of the Dragon Ball universe. But the idea that he was intriguing enough to Akira Toriyama would say, “I’m going to plant this anchor in my Dragon Ball universe, and then get another place that we could sort of build mythology.” I feel like Akira Toriyama is playing the long game.”
So what does that long game entail? Right now, Toriyama and his successor Toyotaro are launching a bold new storyline in the Dragon Ball Super manga that could alter the franchise mythos in a big way; and even the Dragon Ball Heroes promo anime is exploring big changes that could later be incorporated into the official canon of DBS. When Douglas hints that Toriyama is playing a much bigger long game at this point, he’s not wrong. Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the spearhead for this big shift in the franchise, and according to Douglas, there’s going to be some exciting stuff that follows:
“…it might have seemed like Super is just kind of another way to milk a little more life out of the Dragon Ball universe, actually it’s just groundwork,” Douglas said. “I think potentially we could see a ton more content that we were expecting.”
Indeed, the Dragon Ball fandom is currently sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear the official new wave of announcements about what comes in this next phase after Broly. We still have no official word on when the next anime is coming, or what the details of it will be. That’s kind of freeing and exciting in a way… so long as the mystery doesn’t drag on too long.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly is out in Japan now. Funimation will bring the film to theaters in the United States on Wednesday. Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese language release is available to stream on FunimationNOW, VRV, and Crunchyroll.