BE PREPARED, NEW AESTHETICS AND UNEXPECTED CHARACTER.

When it comes to anime, there are few franchises as well known as Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Between the original hit manga, four animated TV series, over 20 films, and countless more video games, Goku and friends are basically household names. It's a huge franchise, and it's about to get bigger. We think there will be a lot of surprises in regard to the visual effects and characters.

The new Dragon Ball Super movie is believed to be a continuation of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, which released in theaters in 2018. Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama has once again been tapped to produce the story. Toei has yet to reveal the film's official title, logo or key art. Development of the new film began in 2018 immediately after Dragon Ball Super: Broly's release, with the team attempting to tell a "large-scale story" that would continue to build the world of the theatrical Dragon Ball films. 

The film promises to enter "unexplored territory in terms of the visual aesthetics" — Akira Toriyama

The movie doesn't have an official title just yet, but Toei Animation says it's been in the works since 2018, before the theatrical release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. In a statement accompanying the film's announcement, series creator Akira Toriyama teased the new movie "may feature an unexpected character." Toriyama worked on character design, story development, and character dialogue for the project, and promised the film would be "charting through some unexplored territory in terms of the visual aesthetics to give the audience an amazing ride."

Akira's announcement comment from DBZ official site.

The announcement came as a part of Toei Animation's "Goku Day," which celebrates the franchise's 37-year history, and it's the first new Dragon Ball animation project since the debut of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. That film currently holds the record for the highest-grossing film in the Dragon Ball franchise, but that could change. 

The announcement of the new movie comes at a good time for anime films. After all, Demon Slayer overtook Mortal Kombat at the US box office recently and earned itself the title of the biggest foreign language film premiere in US history.

The new Dragon Ball Super movie is set to debut in 2022.

What do you think about this movie and its unexpected character? Let us know in the comments!

Sources: Dragon Ball Official Site, Animation Xpress and CBR.