The addition of award-winning actor Chow Yun Fat brings legitimacy to Stephen Chow’s live-action ode to the popular Dragon Ball manga.
The recent announcement that Chow Yun Fat (The Killer, Hard Boiled) will be joining the cast of the live-action Dragonball movie has ignited interest in a film that even die-hard fans of the cartoon and manga series were skeptical about.
Produced by Stephen Chow, writer and director of the wacky-but-awesome Kung Fu Hustle, and directed by James Wong (The One, Final Destination 3), Dragonball stars Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as Goku, a youthful extraterrestrial warrior who adopts Earth as his home. Emmy Rossum (Poseidon) stars as Bulma, the daughter of a Dragon Ball master whose Dragon Ball—one of seven mystical objects containing incredible power—is stolen by the evil warrior Piccolo, played by James Marsters (“Spike” on Buffy and Angel).
Chow Yun Fat will play Master Roshi, a powerful Dragon Ball wizard with a dirty sense of humor who aids Goku for a price. Eriko Tamura (Heroes) and Joon Park (Speed Racer) also join the cast, playing Mai and Yamcha respectively.
Dragonball is scheduled to be released August 15, 2008.