Crunchyroll Announces Worldwide 'Dragon Ball Super Hero' Theatrical Release This Summer

With the recent theatrical success enjoyed by the movie outings of Demon Slayer Kimetsu No Yaiba and Jujutsu Kaisen, we seem to be entering a new era of Japanese animation. But that doesn't mean there's no room for the old guard, and one of them- perhaps the Daddy of them all- is getting a new instalment this summer.

Dragon Ball Super Hero is the second movie in the Dragon Ball Super franchise, and the 21st Dragon Ball movie overall. It follows on from Dragon Ball Super: Broly, which took in over $120 million at the global box office and became the 5th biggest anime of all time in the US.

The film will be the first truly global cinema release from Crunchyroll, following the recent coming together of the Funimation and Crunchyroll brands. The film will be distributed by Crunchyroll in the United States and by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment internationally.

Super Hero was made with the close involvement of original Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, with him contributing the original story and screenplay and character designs. The film will mark the franchise's first CG animated outing. It's directed by Tetsuro Kodama, who was the CGI director on the previous film.

The Red Ribbon Army was once destroyed by Son Goku. Individuals, who carry on its spirit, have created the ultimate Androids, Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. These two Androids call themselves “Super Heroes”. They start attacking Piccolo and Gohan… What is the New Red Ribbon Army’s objective? In the face of approaching danger, it is time to awaken, Super Hero!

The film will be released in Japan on June 11, with international dates to be announced. It will screen in Japanese with subtitles as well as in dubbed format. Crunchyroll hasn't confirmed which language dubs will be produced, but their streaming site regularly posts dubs in English, French, European Spanish, Latin-American Spanish, German and more, and have recently added Italian to their catalogue.

You can watch the trailer here, although despite this being a global release, it appears to be region-locked to the US. More information (including the English cast) will be announced at a later date.