Dragon Ball has been on a longer break since the Anime Daima. But the break might soon be interrupted with a new film.
What has been announced? Kazuhiko Torishima is a legendary editor of the Dragon Ball manga. He reveals during a conversation about illustrations in Dragon Ball stores in a side comment that a new film for Dragon Ball is supposed to be released soon. However, none of the conversation partners follow up on this sentence later in the discussion, leaving it completely isolated.
The fact that no one follows up on it suggests that the participants actually want to talk about a different topic – and the sentence falls outside the themes of the show.
It should likely not be an official announcement but rather a sarcastic remark aimed at the management. The focus of this conversation is on the talent of the artists, not on the mentioned release year of the potential film.
Where was the announcement made? On the Japanese YouTube channel Yūbō to Mashirito no KosoKoso Hōsōkyoku, Yuji Horii, the creator of Dragon Quest, and Kazuhiko Torishima talk about what was happening behind the scenes in the manga and video game industry in the 80s and 90s.
In the current episode, Torishima mentions that only talented artists should be paid for the illustrations in Dragon Ball that one can see on walls in stores, for example. Only those who are truly good at their job should be rewarded.
You can see this part from 1:30:00, but the video is in Japanese:
In his time, he would have only chosen talented artists and given them work. However, that is not the case currently, and Toei Animation, the creators of the Dragon Ball anime, do not value their artists.
Suddenly, Torishima builds a bridge and jokes that one shouldn’t expect much from the next Dragon Ball film. His conversation partner returns to the shops and says she would see Nakatsuru as the main artist. The two do not mention the film any further afterwards.
Next Dragon Ball Film in just a few months
When is it supposed to be released? Torishima mentions “next year”. The film is expected to be released sometime in 2026.
Already in 2024, there was a statement that according to Toei Animation’s financial report, two new anime films are in the works, which are supposed to be released in the fiscal year 2026 (as seen on Screen Rant). Therefore, one of the two films could be Dragon Ball and might be released by March 2026 – provided there are no internal delays.
One way or another, a Dragon Ball film is expected to be released next year.
What could it be about? Currently, rumors are circulating that the upcoming film will focus on Vegeta’s past (as seen on X). The proud prince of the Saiyans was considered a prodigy, and his father, King Vegeta, had high hopes for his son.
However, Planet Vegeta was destroyed, and the Saiyan prince could only survive by serving Frieza, the destroyer of his home planet.
However, keep in mind that this is just a rumor. What will be in the next film might be revealed during the event “Dragon Ball Genkidamatsuri” taking place on January 25, 2026, in Japan.
The last film for Dragon Ball was called Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero and featured the arc from the manga where Son-Gohan reaches his ultimate beast form. The duplication in the name arises because Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama simply could not remember how his own work was called: The name of the newest Dragon Ball film is just that strange because the creator forgot the name of his own anime
