While Dragonball Evolution 2 was planned at one point, here's why it didn't happen. The Dragon Ball manga arrived back in 1984, with the Akira Toriyama-created series soon becoming a pop culture phenomenon. The basic setup follows a Saiyan warrior named Goku as he sets out on a quest to recover the titular orbs, and the popularity of the manga soon led to an anime show. It's been unstoppable ever since, with countless spinoffs, video games, toys and much more.

Given the evergreen popularity of the property and the limitless amount of source material to work from, a Dragon Ball live-action movie was inevitable. 20th Century Fox acquired the rights in the early 2000s, with directors like Stephen Chow and Zack Snyder circling before James Wong signed on. The films assembled a talented cast like Emmy Rossum and Chow Yun-fat, but the movie was, to put it mildly, received with disappointment by fans. The film is a garish mess that has a poor understanding of the source material and bad special effects. The movie's screenwriter Ben Ramsey even issued a public apology to Dragon Ball devotees years later for his role in the production.

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Regardless of how badly received the final movie would be, 20th Century Fox was still eyeing a franchise with the property. Here's why Dragonball Evolution 2 didn't ultimately happen.

A Dragonball Evolution 2 Script Was Written

Emmy Rossum as Bulma and Justin Chatwin as Goku in Dragonball Evolution

Goku actor Justin Chatwin revealed to MTV during Dragonball Evolution's release that a script had already been written. While he teased it went to some far out places, he didn't reveal any actual plot details. He also revealed to IGN that he was signed for three movies. In the same interview, James Marsters' teased his villain Lord Piccolo had a more developed arc in the script for the sequel, and that the source material had so much story the movies could run for seven entries.

Dragonball Evolution Was A Box-Office Disappointment

While bad reviews don't necessarily spell doom for a potential movie franchise, weak box-office certainly does. Dragonball Evolution performed decently at the international box office, but it made under $9 million domestically. Overall, the movie grossed around $70 million, and while this may have recovered its production budget, it wasn't a success either.

Nobody Wanted Dragonball Evolution 2

Dragonball Evolution Cast

The original film was so poorly received that even if it had performed well financially, Dragonball Evolution 2 still may not have happened. In the years since the filmmakers and even creator Akira Toriyama have acknowledged the movie just didn't work, so it's best a follow-up was cancelled. While there have been reports of a potential movie reboot in recent years, it has yet to move ahead.

Next: Dragon Ball Z: Every Z-Warrior Goku Fought (& What Happened)