Dragon Ball Evolution was released in 2009 and quickly became a film that all fans of the Dragon Ball franchise despised. The failure to adapt the original work by creator Akira Toriyama led to a sense of “inspiration” to create new content, helping to revitalize the Dragon Ball series to this day.
In addition to the film, Akira Toriyama revealed in 2013 the question, “Who would be the ideal actor to play Goku?”
The creator of Dragon Ball replied: “Casting is something I have thought about a lot, and the live-action Hollywood adaptation was extremely terrifying. If Zhang Long had not been cast, I guess no one would think of embodying Goku other than him.”
Zhang Long is a star in the film industry with a significant influence in Asia. His martial arts films have provided great inspiration for many famous manga artists from the late 70s to the 90s, including Akira Toriyama. The Dragon Ball manga creator once shared that without Zhang Long, he would not have been able to create the Dragon Ball manga.
Initially, Toriyama created the Dragon Ball manga based on the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, featuring the character Sun Wukong. When he reached the character of Son Goku in the story, Toriyama found many new ideas from various martial arts films starring Zhang Long, especially those based on Journey to the West.
In the Dragon Ball manga, there is a character named Vũ Thiên Lão, who participates in martial arts tournaments, with the name being a play on the name Zhang Long. Additionally, he has used Journey to the West and many other elements in his films to create fresh content. For example, the character Chiaotzu was also inspired by a character from Zhang Long’s martial arts films.
In reality, both Akira Toriyama and Zhang Long are quite fond of each other and have often participated in interviews and photo shoots together for magazines.
In conclusion, it seems that Zhang Long is the ideal actor to portray Goku in a live-action adaptation of the beloved franchise. Would anyone else be able to fill his shoes?
The anime Dragon Ball Super is currently on hiatus. The anime concluded in March 2018 with the finale of the Universal Survival Arc. However, it’s worth noting that the manga continues to be published monthly with new adventures.
