WWE superstar Rhea Ripley has recently stated she'd love the opportunity to play Android 18 in a potential live-action Dragon Ball Z movie. Though there are no current plans for any live-action adaptations of Akira Toriyama's iconic shonen series, Ripley has been a very public fan of the work for her entire career. She even donned a shakeup of Vegeta's armor for Wrestlemania 36.
Android 18, also known as Lazuli, first appeared in Dragon Ball Z, the second part of the Dragon Ball saga. Though she was introduced as a villain, she's stuck around to become something of a fan favorite over the continuation of the series. Her most recognizable design includes short, blonde hair, striped sleeves, and a blue vest over a black shirt. Ripley has expressed interest in an Android 18-inspired outfit in the ring, but that kind of getup doesn't really seem fit for the acrobatic nature of professional wrestling, so the next logical choice would be to play the character in a movie.
In an interview with ComicBook, Ripley expressed that fans of hers have suggested it to her before. "If it was a Dragon Ball Z movie, definitely Android 18...I always get people saying that I look like her. I don't know if it's because my hair, especially now that it's blonde. But I actually did an Android 18 cosplay for Halloween one year in Australia, and I loved it. So I would definitely love to play Android 18 for sure." In the meantime, she's promised to find another Dragon Ball Z reference to tie into her in-ring attire.
As with most things in the known universe, the rights to Dragon Ball currently belong to Disney. They currently don't have any adaptations in development, maybe because anime adaptations have struggled in the past, or perhaps because the medium has a tendency to rub a certain demographic the wrong way. Whatever the case, should it actually happen sometime soon, Ripley does fit the bill for Android 18. Professional wrestling is absolutely performance-based, and many wrestlers have gone on to have successful acting careers (see: Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista, John Cena, etc.) after their time in the ring.
Dragon Ball is among the more popular anime/manga series in the West, but the code has yet to be cracked on what makes a decent live-action adaptation. The moderate success of Alita: Battle Angel suggests Hollywood may finally be on the right track, but it's still the exception in a sea of misunderstood failures. Famously, 2009's Dragon Ball: Evolution was panned by critics, hated by fans, and effectively disowned by Toriyama himself. The period of discomfort over touching that particular IP may not yet be over, but an upcoming slate of better anime adaptations from people who actually like the source material may bring Dragon Ball Z back into the conversation. Should that time come, Rhea Ripley might just be first in line to play Android 18.
Source: ComicBook