Poor, poor Fox. They just can’t seem to pull together a decent summer blockbuster to save their lives.

X-MEN 2 was their last slam dunk and that was five years ago! Since then we’ve been treated to high calibre flicks like X-MEN 3, the FANTASTIC FOUR’s and LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD.

The DRAGONBALL movie, a live-action adaptation that we first wrote about here, has a struggle on its hands if it wants to buck the trend.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the film has a release date set for August 15, 2008 and has picked up the very good supporting-actor-but-no-way-a-leading-man Justin Chatwin to play lead character Goku and TV-rent-villain James Marsters. The latter’s casting is especially puzzling, I can only think that he got the part after 400 other actors passed on it.

The trade has the following synopsis:

“The story follows an adult humanoid alien named Goku, who discovers that he was sent to Earth to blend in and destroy our population but instead elects to protect it from an oncoming alien onslaught bent on dominating the universe and controlling the mystical objects from which the film takes its name. “

Salvation my come in the form of Stephen Chow (KUNG FU HUSTLE, SHAOLIN SOCCER) who’s acting as producer. With Chow involved there’s a flicker of hope but not the raging inferno that’d be there if he was writing and directing.

Instead FINAL DESTINATION veteran James Wong will write and direct the movie which begins lensing next month in Montreal.

source - the hollywood reporter