Dragonball Evolution Star Apologizes for Hated Adaptation in Tribute to Akira Toriyama

The death of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama has instigated an apology from the star of Dragonball Evolution, the 2009 live-action movie often labeled as one of the worst movies of all time. While paying tribute to Toriyama, Justin Chatwin felt it necessary to add a small note apologizing for making such a terrible movie.

In the last year, live-action adaptations of popular anime franchises have really hit their stride, with titles such as One Piece becoming a runaway success. However, in 2009, this was certainly not the case when Dragonball Evolution attempted to bring the vibrant world of Dragon Ball to the big screen. The film’s reimagining of Goku as a high school teenager, which took the origin of the character so far away from the source material, almost made the film a completely different beast altogether. For this reason, the film fared pretty badly on Rotten Tomatoes with a 14% Tomatometer score, and holds a 2.5 rating on IMDb.

Justin Chatwin’s tribute to Toriyama, shared on his Instagram account (as per Comicbook.com), came with the message:

Dragonball Evolution’s Writer Previously Apologized for the Movie

Many reimaginings of popular franchises can live or die because of the reaction of the original creator. Like many authors and creators over the years, Toriyama’s reaction to the arrival of Dragonball Evolution was not exactly to welcome it with open arms. In fact, his dislike for the live-action movie ended with him creating Dragon Ball Super as a direct response to it.

Chatwin’s recent apology for the film is not the first to be made. Back in 2016, writer Ben Ramsey was interviewed for a book about the history of Dragon Ball Z, which included a chapter dedicated to the story of Dragonball Evolution. In response to the request, Ramsey sent a message meant for the fans of the franchise in which he described the “gut-wrenching” feeling of being responsible for the film that had caused “such disappointment” to them. His comments at the time said:

“I knew that it would eventually come down to this one day. Dragonball Evolution marked a very painful creative point in my life. To have something with my name on it as the writer be so globally reviled is gut wrenching. To receive hate mail from all over the world is heartbreaking. I spent so many years trying to deflect the blame, but at the end of the day it all comes down to the written word on page and I take full responsibility for what was such a disappointment to so many fans. I did the best I could, but at the end of the day, I ‘dropped the dragon ball.’ I went into the project chasing after a big payday, not as a fan of the franchise but as a businessman taking on an assignment. I have learned that when you go into a creative endeavor without passion you come out with sub-optimal results, and sometimes flat out garbage. So I’m not blaming anyone for Dragonball but myself. As a fanboy of other series, I know what it’s like to have something you love and anticipate be so disappointing. To all the Dragon Ball fans out there, I sincerely apologize. I hope I can make it up to you by creating something really cool and entertaining that you will like and that is also something I am passionate about. That’s the only work I do now.”

Related

The Best Dragon Ball Z Characters, Ranked

Dragon Ball Z is often considered the best iteration of the Dragon Ball franchise, largely because of incredible characters like these.

While Dragonball Evolution can never be redeemed in the eyes of fans, it was rumored in 2023 that Michael B. Jordan was eager to direct a new live-action adaptation of Dragon Ball Z. While there has been no further update on that potential new adaptation, it seems that time could be right to finally give Dragon Ball fans a live-action version that can erase the memory of what came before.