Rumors are swirling about the possibility of a new Dragon Ball movie slated for 2026, sparking a wave of excitement among dedicated fans. The franchise has consistently captivated audiences with its cinematic offerings, long before the introduction of Dragon Ball Super. Some of the most memorable and beloved installments in the Dragon Ball saga have been the early DBZ films, regardless of their canonical status.

While many of the Dragon Ball Z films from the late 1990s and early 2000s may not align perfectly with the official manga timeline and were not penned by Akira Toriyama, they nonetheless encapsulated the spirit of the series. This is likely why iconic movies such as Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn, Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, and Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan have been reimagined and integrated into what many consider one of the greatest anime films of all time.

The 2018 release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly reintroduced audiences to the narrative of Bardock, Goku’s father. Although Bardock’s tale is recognized as part of the canon, the original TV special, Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, included elements that were often viewed as outside the official storyline. This perception largely stems from the fact that Bardock’s complete story was absent from the original Dragon Ball manga and was not directly authored by Toriyama.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Remade the Whole DBZ Bardock Storyline

2018’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly starts out by adapting the story of Goku’s dad, Bardock. Bardock’s story has always technically been canon, but the original TV special, Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, contained aspects of the story which were generally accepted as non-canonical. That’s in large part due to the fact that his full story never appeared in Dragon Ball’s original manga run, and wasn’t written by Akira Toriyama personally.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly, on the other hand, was a storyline written by Toriyama himself, making it accepted into the canon of the franchise. Interestingly, much of what viewers see of Bardock’s life and death in Broly, as well as Goku’s origin before being sent to Earth, remain quite loyal to what was shown in the original Bardock movie. Bardock recognizes Frieza’s plan to destroy the Saiyans just as he did in the original movie, and even fights back against Frieza’s minions in his final moments just as he did in the non-canon telling of his tale.

Whereas Bardock was once relegated to a single panel in the original manga, Dragon Ball Super: Broly opened the floodgates for future canonical additions to his story. Bardock has since had his early life fleshed-out even more by way of Dragon Ball Super’s Granolah Saga and the Dragon Ball Super Minus: Departure of the Fated Child one-shot, both of which probably wouldn’t have made much sense before DBS: Broly brought Bardock’s full backstory into canon.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Finally Canonized The Legendary Super Saiyan

Image via Toei Animation

Dragon Ball Super: Broly is all about bringing previously non-canon movie material into the series’ main timeline, a fact which is highlighted in the film’s title. Broly is a beloved fan-favorite character who was original introduced in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan. In this film, he was a purely villainous character who lost his mind due to the overwhelming innate potential he had.

While DBS’ Broly is driven mad by power in much the same way, the two diverge by way of the innate nature of the character. In Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Broly is an otherwise kind-hearted and timid man who would prefer not to hurt others if he can help. DBZ’s Broly, on the other hand, is a purely evil Saiyan who seeks to use his overwhelming strength to prove his superiority over others.

As different as Broly’s character is between Dragon Ball Super and DBZ, DBS nonetheless keeps most of the key facets of his backstory intact for the “remake.” Thankfully, Toriyama did have the wisdom to completely ignore DBZ Broly’s weird grudge against Kakarot when crafting his own version of the story.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly Brought Fusion Reborn’s Best New Idea To The Canon Timeline

One of the coolest ways Dragon Ball Super: Broly “remade” an iconic Dragon Ball Z film was by introducing Gogeta into canon for the first time. Before this, Gogeta only appeared in the film Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn. It’s not just Gogeta’s existence that makes DBS: Broly feel like a Fusion Reborn remake, though. It’s also in how the transformation actually happens.

In the DBZ film, Pikkon stays behind to fight Janemba, keeping him busy while Goku goes off to teach Vegeta the Fusion Dance. This is exactly the same as how Frieza was left behind to distract Broly while Goku taught Vegeta the Fusion Dance in the Broly movie.

DBZ movie references and callbacks in DBS like these are by no means a replacement for the original movies, which remain must-see classics for any true Dragon Ball fan. And yet, for the next generation of Dragon Ball fans who might have never gotten the chance to witness the epic story of Bardock or the awesome fusion of Gogeta, Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the closest thing these films will ever get to a modern remake.

Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn and Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, had been considered the peak of Dragon Ball movies for years until Broly came around. Nowadays, the consensus tends to be that Dragon Ball Super: Broly is the best film in the entire series’ history, and perhaps the best animated media the franchise has ever delivered. Aside from its beautiful animation, a major part of what made Broly so popular is how it finally canonized the best DBZ movies fans grew up with. Now we just need Cooler in the sequel.

An Upcoming Dragon Ball Film Could Bring Other Beloved Parts of the Franchise Into Canon

Image via Toei Animation

It made sense for Dragon Ball Super to canonize some of Dragon Ball Z’s best movie ideas, because the DBZ movies have become an inseparable part of the franchise as a whole. By bringing Broly, Gogeta and Bardocks’ backstory into canon, Dragon Ball Super immortalized parts of the series which most fans considered as indispensable from the franchise anyway. And Dragon Ball Super: Broly isn’t even the only place where this effort to turn beloved non-canon concepts into canon has come to prominence.

Most recently, Dragon Ball DAIMA made Dragon Ball GT’s most popular idea, the Super Saiyan 4 transformation, into a canonical concept. The series also included a number of key aspects of Dragon Ball GT’s story, including Goku being turned into a child, and his journey to a distant world to find Dragon Balls accompanied by a girl named Panzy (who is suspiciously like Pam in terms of personality) and a bounty hunter named Glorio (who looks uncannily like Trunks did in GT).

Considering how DAIMA essentially canonized Dragon Ball GT in its own way, it’s not at all impossible for Dragon Ball’s next major film or series to bring more non-canon DB material into the canonical DBZ–DBS timeline. If it’s a DAIMA movie, perhaps there’s more to come from DBGT, including a Baby-style villain or the Shadow Dragons. On the other hand, if it’s a new DBS movie that doesn’t adapt the Moro Saga from the manga, fans could be in for even more epic DBZ movie “remakes” to come.

Image via Toei Animation

Created by

Akira Toriyama

Latest Film

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

First Episode Air Date

April 26, 1989