So while details surrounding the big-screen version of Dragonball have been kept relatively under wraps, it is wise to remember that nothing ever stays secret for long in the age of the internet. Just a few weeks after the first image of Justin Chatwin as the anime hero Goku hit the net, a crop of new magazine scans have been posted over at the Dragonball fan site, dbthemovie.com, with a few new shots of Goku, Bulma (Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun Fat). So even though this latest batch looks pretty similar to some of the earlier shots, at least these aren't watermarked.

Based on the classic anime series, Dragonball is the story of the hero Goku and his mission to protect the famed 'dragonballs' from the evil Lord Piccolo (played by James Marsters). Throw in some romance in the form of Jamie Chung and you have a summer blockbuster, right? Well, for director James Wong's sake I hope so, because let's be completely honest: expectations for this film are not high. In fact, most fans are probably just praying that Wong and company don't ruin their favorite characters, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Dragonball is scheduled to arrive in theaters on April 10, 2009.

There's a new indie film on the way with a pretty vague description and a fun cast, but there may be more to it. Variety reports that Adam Salky is directing a new indie film called Dare, written by David Brind. Fresh off of Dragonball, Emmy Rossum is starring, with Alan Cumming, Sandra Bernhard, Ashley Spring, Ana Gasteyer, Rooney Mara, and Cady Huffman also in the cast.

They have described it as a movie "about three privileged high school seniors who decide they can no longer ignore their deepest needs and take the biggest risk of their lives." However, it looks like there's a bit more to it, if this is anything like the short film that Brind wrote and Salky directed, also called Dare. It's about a high school senior named Ben who is crushing on Johnny, a "bad boy" that also goes to his school. "After Ben gives Johnny a ride home one night, the boys end up in Johnny's swimming pool and have an encounter that breaks the rules and blows Ben's mind." How this then translates into three, and becomes the biggest risk of their lives, I don't know. Since Rossum is starring, does this become some sort of love triangle?

The film is currently filming in Philadelphia.

It might not be the best quality image, but the first glimpse of Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as the anime hero, Goku, has finally hit the net -- and I have to admit, it doesn't look half-bad. A dedicated Dragonball Z fan submitted a scan from the Japanese magazine Shonen Jump to the Dragonball fan site (see to the right; click to enlarge) and even though it's blurry and covered in Japanese, it does give me hope that the film won't be a total disaster. Fox has kept a tight grip on updates for the film, and other than a few MySpace entries from co-star Emmy Rossum, the most we have gotten was a leaked teaser poster.

Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong and tells the story of Goku, a young man locked in a struggle with the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) over some mystical globes known as 'dragon balls'. The debate over whether or not Chatwin was going to be able to pull off the classic manga character was a big source of contention among fans. It's not like it's easy to ignore the obvious racial 'disparity' in hiring Chatwin to play a guy that normally looks like this.

So what do you think? Now that we have finally seen Chatwin in all his manga glory, will it be enough to silence detractors? Or will it be the last piece of the puzzle that proves they were right all along?

Dragonball will arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.

Right on the heels of the delayed release date for Dragonball, Slashfilm has managed to score an early look at the teaser poster for the feature film, courtesy of blurry photos from a fan. Maybe it is because I am not all that familiar with the intricacies of Dragonball (beyond their awesome hairstyles), but this poster isn't exactly piquing my curiosity to find out -- and isn't that the whole point of a teaser?

Dragonball was written and directed by James Wong (Final Destination), and stars Justin Chatwin as Goku; a young man put on a quest to retrieve seven "mystical Dragonballs." James Marsters (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame) plays Goku's nemesis Piccolo, who is also trying to get his hands on the orbs. Other classic Dragonball characters making an appearance in the film are Bulma (played by Emmy Rossum) and Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fat). So can anyone tell me what exactly these Dragonballs are supposed to be? Because every time I have to read a line like "Goku searches for Dragonballs," I giggle like a 12 year old girl (call me immature if you must).

You can't really blame Fox for delaying the release date for the flick. Dragonball might be a favorite among fans of anime, but it definitely doesn't have the same audience reach as titles like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Tropic Thunder. Now that there is plenty of time before Dragonball hits theaters, I just hope that Fox can come up with some more exciting marketing materials. Dragonball is due to arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2009.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for movie-production blogging; what could be better than getting the information from the horse's mouth? That is unless they spend most of the time rambling about everything else. Unfortunately this is the case with Emmy Rossum's contribution to her MySpace page with news from the Dragonball set in Mexico. If you're looking for details, I wouldn't get too excited. There are a few hints, but for the most part the info you are going to get is that Rossum's character rides a motorcycle, and will have a lot of 'interaction' with Joon Park in the film, whatever that could mean.

Dragonball is based on the classic manga, Dragonball Z. Ben Ramsey's adaptation centers on "A young boy named Goku who seeks out upon his grandfather's dying request to find the great Master Roshi and gather all seven Dragon Balls (of which he has one) in order to prevent Piccolo from succeeding in his desire to use the Dragon Balls to take over the world". Rossum stars as Bulma, and is joined by Chow Yun Fat (Rossum's unlucky passenger on the motorcycle), James Marsters, Joon Park, and the hotly-debated Justin Chatwin as Goku.

The cast has been pretty chatty since the film started shooting in Mexico back in November. Just last week, Marsters, who plays Piccolo, gave a little pep-talk on the Dragonball blog about the film. Mainly it it was praise for director James Wong, which appears to be the opposite of most popular public opinion. Dragonball is still filming on location and is set to hit theaters on August 15th, 2009.

It looks like Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum are popping out of the woodwork today. Empire Online reports that in an interview with TV Guide, James Marsters (better known as Spike) gave them a few tidbits about the upcoming big-screen version of the classic anime, Dragonball Z. (Marsters plays Piccolo, the main baddie in the story.) The actor told TV Guide: "Oh, Dragonball is the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years. It's got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil. The movie has incredible action scenes with characters with unbelievable powers. It's going to be really visually exciting." While I've got nothing against Dragonball Z, 'Shakespearean' is a bit of an overstatement.

News of the film adaptation first hit back in October, and the casting notices have been appearing fast and furious ever since. Joining Marsters is Chow-Yun Fat as Master Roshi, Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as Goku, and Emily Rossum as Bulma. James Wong adapted Akira Toriyama's original manga, and his script focuses on a "warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls." When Wong first signed on to write and direct, it didn't exactly go over all that well with fans. Well, at least Wong has Marsters' vote of confidence; on the official Dragonball site, Marsters said: "I'm not really allowed to talk about any of the movie details, but I can say that (writer/director) James Wong is obviously a gifted and insightful director." Dragonball is currently shooting on location in Mexico, and is set for release on August 15th.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) has signed on to play Master Roshi in the live-action adaptation of Dragonball. Rounding out the cast are Justin Chatwin (Tom Cruise's exceedingly obnoxious son in War of the Worlds), James Marsters (Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Emmy Rossum (from such disaster movies as The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon, and The Phantom of the Opera), and Jamie Chung. Marsters will play Piccolo, Rossum will play Bulma, Chung will play Chi-Chi. Master Roshi is Goku's mentor, and he "helps him achieve the highest state of fighting and spiritual powers." He's the Yoda of Dragonball, if you will. James Wong (Final Destination) wrote the screenplay and is directing the film.

The world of Dragonball has already been made into several anime series, animated feature films, a live-action Chinese movie, action figures, a collectible trading card game, comic books, and electronic games. The new film will focus on Goku (Chatwin, whose Caucasian-ness didn't set well with Cinematical commentors), "a warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls." Hm. I liked this movie better the first time when it was called Gandhi. I don't have much more to say on this project, so let me just ask you -- given the opportunity, do you think you would be able to handle Dragon Balls? Like if Dragon Balls were suddenly thrust into your face, would you know what to do with them? I am immature.

Last month, we got a serving of James Marsters and Justin Chatwin for James Wong's upcoming Dragon Ball movie. Marsters signed on to play the villain Piccolo, while Chatwin nabbed the starring role of Goku. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, they will be teamed by a few women and another bad guy. First up is Emmy Rossum, Jake Gyllenhaal's love interest in The Day After Tomorrow. Aggravatingly, there's no word on who she'll play. However, there is some info on the other two additions. Eriko Tamura, who recently stole Hiro's heart on Heroes and made for quite the rift between the time traveler and Kensei, has signed on to play Mai, while Joon Park, who used to be a member of the Korean pop group G.O.D., has signed on to play Yamcha.*

So two more, at least, have joined the bad side -- unless Yamcha will show up as his reformed self. He is a thief who reforms and becomes a Z Fighter, while Mai is one of Emperor Pilaf's two minions. I imagine that means Pilaf will be cast soon, so that Piccolo has a someone to free him from his confinement in an electric rice cooker. Now, I love strange, zany stuff, and Dragon Ball is full of it, but can they really pull this off in any way that'll be amusing -- either in a serious or tacky way? I'm getting Super Mario flashbacks, and even that source material wasn't this wacky.

Also, HoyCinema has posted the pictures from the film's production, which don't show too much, but should give you an idea about the film's look.

*Unfortunately, Heroes fans, this means no chance for Hiro's lady to meet his best friend. According to earlier rumors, Ando (James Kyson Lee) was going to play Yamcha.