Jaco

Jaco would be an upcoming computer-animated buddy cop adventure film directed by Anna Boden from a script by Boden, Ryan Fleck, and James Gunn, and based on the character of Jaco from the manga Jaco the Galactic Patrolman. Boden and Gunn would also produce the film alongside Jaco creator Akira Toriyama and Kevin Feige. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Toei Company, Amblin Entertainment, and Sonnenfield Productions, the film would be a part of the Dragon Ball Live-action Universe (DBLU), and would star Mena Massoud, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jason Lee, Ryan Reynolds, Jason Marsden, and Lou Ferrigno througth motion-capture and/or voice, while the score would be composed by Pinar Toprak. The film would focus on Jaco, a petty thief who reclutantly agrees to help the Galactic Patrol to stop terrorist Cui taking over the galaxy.

Plans for a feature film based on Jaco the Galactic Patrolman would be revealed by Toriyama on September 2022. Development on the film would begin by 2029, with Boden set to direct and co-write the script with Fleck and Gunn, the later whom worked on the Dragon Ball films set in the DBLU. Massoud and the cast would be revealed to have joined the film during D23 2030. Filming for the project would begin in late 2030 on Playa Vista, Los Angeles. Weta Digital would produce the film's visual effects, which would be designed to look smilar to the Jaco and Dragon Ball mangas.

Jaco would be released on December 18, 2032, and would become a critical and financial success, with critics prasing its visual effects, direction, performances (particualrly Messoud, Pfeiffer, Reynolds, and Ferrigno's), score, and action sequences. The film would earn 989 million dollars at the box office over a budget of 170 million dollars. The film would also earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Film.

Synopsis
Jaco takes the Dragon Bal Live-action Universe in a journey to explore the depths of space, where a petty thief named Jaco goes around stealing and dealing with both the Galactic Patrol and other criminals. After having a business with wanted terrorist Cui, Jaco ends up being caught by the Patrol and arrested. However, since he's their only clue to find and arrest Cui, Jaco ends up being forced to work with veteran Galactic Patrol officer Furui to localize Cui and stop him from taking over galaxy. Durng the investigation, Jaco starts to see that maybe there's something bigger in life for him that anybody ever realized.

Voice cast

 * Mena Massoud as Jaco, a petty thief who ends up helping the Galactic Patrol to find a dangerous terrorist. Producer Akira Toriyama would describe the film as "Jaco's origin story" and "where the source of Jaco's shift between fear and confidence comes from". Massoud would say that "Jaco's arc in the film feels both inspiring and quite timely".
 * Michelle Pfeiffer as Furui, a veteran Galactic Patrol officer who is forced to work with Jaco to stop Cui. Pfeiffer would describe the character as "the kind of girl who fears her age is catching up, only to wonder whether is a valid fear or not". Director Anna Boden would describe her as "the similar opposite of Jaco", as "while people undermine Jaco, she undermines herself".
 * Jason Lee as Cui, a terrorist who plans to take over the Milky Way Galaxy in order to prove himself worthy of entering Frieza's army. According to producer Kevin Feige, Cui would be choosen over other antagonists in order for the film to have "a character who was very powerful, but also not powerful enough", as well as in order to connect the film with future DBLU projects.
 * Ryan Reynolds as the Galactic King, the ruler of the Milky Way Galaxy and head of the Galactic Patrol. Reynolds would describe the character as "a goofy king who makes you think 'How did he got the job?' only to prove himself worthy of the title". Reynolds improvise several of his lines during recording. Asidee from providing the voice, Reynolds would also provide facial motion-capture for the character.
 * Jason Marsden as Ljime, a member of the Galactic Patrol, and a smart bully who mocks Jaco due to his background. Aside from voicing the character, Marsden would provide facial motion-capture for the character.
 * Lou Ferrigno as Shikaku, a member of the Galactic Patrol, who is a dim-witted bully and a friend of Ljime's, who physically abuses Jaco due to his background when off-service. Ferrigno would improvise several scenes during filming.

Music
Pinar Toprak, who previously collaborated with director Anna Boden in Captain Marvel (2019), would compose the film's score. As with other DBLU films, the film would feature motifs and elements from Shunsuke Kikuchi's score for the Dragon Ball anime series. Toprak would compose a score that could "combine the action, mystery, and buddy cop elements of the movie seamessly". Toprak would compose a theme for Jaco that could be "both the perfect theme for a pety thief and for somebody deeply insecure", while her theme for Furui would be "the typical theme for a cop, only that with a feeling of both being old and fearing that". Toprak's theme for a Cui would draw inspirations from Kikuchi's score for Dragon Ball Z's Namek Saga, in order to "tie his present self with his future self", and her theme for the Galactic King would be "purely goofy".

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film would have an approval rating of 87%, with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on 245 reviews. The website's critical consensus would read, "Powered by great works of both the director, the cast, and the visual effect department, Jaco is an inspiring tale that combines both timely and timeless storytelling to create another win for the DBLU". On Metacritic, the film would have a weighted rating of 70 out of 100, based on 50 reviews, indicating "generally positive reviews".

Trivia

 * This would be Anna Boden's first time directing a film without Ryan Fleck as co-director.
 * The film would be the first Dragon Ball-related film to be computer-animated.
 * It would be the first film in the DBLU to feature original characters in an starring roles, as the stars in previous films were either directly or loosely based on pre-existing character from each film's original manga/anime.
 * Steven Spielberg and Barry Sonnenfield previously worked together on the Men in Black franchise.