Dragon Ball Producer Teases the Anime's Next Big Project, Signaling a 2025 Surprise

Dragon Ball fans had a rough year last year, with the loss of Akira Toriyama and the Dragon Ball Super manga going on hiatus for months. 2025 is looking to be a return to glory for the franchise, however, if producer Akio Iyoku's hints about the future pan out.

The executive producer of the Dragon Ball franchise paid a visit to a Japanese radio show, "All Night Nippon," for their Dragon Ball 40th Anniversary Special, and took the time to answer a few questions, mostly about Daima and other existing projects. When asked about future projects, Iyoku was a bit more coy, but still provided fans with a tantalizing answer, implying that one or more Dragon Ball projects will be announced in 2025. The interview was translated by X (formerly Twitter) user @Peraperayume, and offers quite a few interesting pieces of information for fans.

Could a Dragon Ball Movie Be Announced for 2025?

Rumblings of a New Movie Have Been Heard

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In the interview, Iyoku strongly implies that there will be some sort of Dragon Ball announcement in 2025, something which was reiterated before the interview ended. When combined with other information, such as Toei's report indicating 2 anime movies are in production, it's looking likely that one of these projects is a movie. It has been over 2 and a half years since Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was released in Japan, which is roughly the amount of time it takes to bring the average anime movie to life, and an announcement in 2025 could still mean the project is released in 2026, offering more time if needed.

A new Dragon Ball Super movie is an exciting prospect, as both Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero were fairly well-received by fans. With Gohan and Piccolo's new forms achieved, a new movie would offer them another chance to show off their new-found power, while the film could also mark the animated debut of new forms for Goku and Vegeta as well--like, for example, Vegeta's Ultra Ego form, which has appeared in the manga but has not yet been animated.

Other Dragon Ball Projects in 2025

What Else Could Be Headed Fans' Way This Year?

While we don't have Iyoku's exact phrasing, the way it is translated does leave open the possibility of other Dragon Ball projects being announced in 2025. A new Dragon Ball video game seems unlikely, since Sparking Zero only just came out in October. Given that Dragon Ball Daima will be concluding some time this year, it's also possible that there could be an announcement on the anime's future, be that a second season of Daima or perhaps even the long-awaited return of Dragon Ball Super, to adapt the manga's remaining arcs.

Whatever the case may be, it seems Dragon Ball fans definitely have something to look forward to this year. It may be difficult without Toriyama, but the Dragon Ball franchise is continuing to move forward, and that's a great thing for fans.