‘Dragon Ball’ Star Officially Confirms New 2026 Return [Exclusive]

Image via Toei Animation Published Aug 10, 2026, 12:15 PM EDT Sign in to your Collider account Since the Dragon Ball franchise roared back to life in 2013 with the release of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, one character has remained at the center of Goku and friends' story — the God of Destruction, Beerus. Introduced as the main foe for the Saiyan in the feature film, he and his attendant, Whis, have become much more than many of his past antagonists, sticking around to enjoy Earth's food, witness how Goku and Vegeta evolve once they awaken to the power of the gods, and become fan favorites along the way. The Dragon Ball Super anime and movies have even seen him increasingly grow to care for the people of Earth and its protectors, even if the anthropomorphic cat doesn't show it. In English, Jason Douglas has been a part of that ride for over a decade now, and soon, he'll return to the character's destructive beginning. This fall, Toei Animation will debut Dragon Ball Super: Beerus, the third animated rendition of the God of Destruction Beerus Saga. It's been described as an "enhanced" version of the arc from the Dragon Ball Super anime that more faithfully adapts the story as the late series creator Akira Toriyama envisioned, with improved visuals, reworked and all-new scenes, and more. Dubbing and audio will also be re-recorded for the occasion to give a fresh feel to the moment Beerus awakens from his long slumber and sets his sights on Earth. Once again, fans will see Goku awaken to the power of Super Saiyan God and stand toe-to-toe with the destroyer, and Douglas will be back in the booth for the occasion. In a panel hosted by Collider's Maggie Lovitt at Big Lick Comic Con in Roanoke, Virginia, over the weekend, Douglas confirmed that he'll return to the role of Beerus to retell his entrance into the Dragon Ball world once more. With the new series coming so long after he brought the wrathful, playful, and often lazy god to life for the first time, he was asked about how his approach to the character has evolved in the years since. He described how he still always tries to recapture that initial intimidating air to the character, even as he's mellowed out and "whimsical." "When I do Beerus, I still try to find that original kind of spark. There's that thing that we discovered, really doing the first scene from Dragon Ball: Battle of the Gods. And it's Beerus that he's in his kind of lair, right? He kind of wakes up from the nap, and they did a really great job of painting the picture of who Beerus is, who is his core, what's he about? And so, I have always tried to find that. I think when we did Dragon Ball Super, it began to take on a little more whimsical character, but I always felt like that core guy, that dangerous entity, was still there and still present. And so I never wanted him to lose that edge." Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🚀Star Wars 💍Lord of the Rings 🧙Harry Potter 👑Game of Thrones 🖖Star Trek FIND YOUR UNIVERSE → 01 What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question. ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. 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REVEAL MY UNIVERSE → Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose. Star WarsYou believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast. You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance. You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources. Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story. The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is. Lord of the RingsYou understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost. Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate. You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival. Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance. Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world. Harry PotterYou believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise. The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle. 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Star TrekYou believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation. Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear. You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is. The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better? You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 'Dragon Ball Super: Beerus' Will Bring Some Edge Back to the God of Destruction Considering Beerus is going back to his first appearance when he was still more interested in destroying Goku and Earth, the scarier side of the god will be back on full display. Douglas fully believes that genuine fear that he could erase just about anyone at any time, combined with his sillier side, is what has made him a fan favorite, and he believes the new series will tip the balance back towards intimidation. "But what's been interesting, and I think fun for not only me, but also for the fans, is to see that contrast of knowing how dangerous this character can be to everyone else, in the frame, and yet he's finding himself babysitting or fighting over who gets the next bite of something or whatever," he continued. "It's like, this contrast, this kind of silliness that I think actually fans enjoy, but I think it's left us wanting a little more of that dangerous Beerus, which is what I think we're gonna get this fall, with the return to Dragon Ball Super." Although the actor has been involved in other major franchises like The Walking Dead and other colossal anime like the modern darling Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, he's still surprised at how critical a role Beerus has played in taking Dragon Ball to new ground. Goku has fought plenty of powerful foes before, yet, unlike them, Beerus has been the catalyst for exploring other universes and unlocking unfathomable new heights for the Saiyans. Douglas credited Toriyama for thinking bigger than just another villain to build an arc around and instead formulating lasting mysteries, longer-term goals for the heroes, and a much wider world that begs to be explored. "I mean, we knew that he was going to be a big, important character when we started, but you could say that about Cell, you could say that about Broly, you can say that about Frieza, of course. I think of Frieza as kind of. And at least in my mind, I feel like Frieza, Frieza Force, King Cold, I feel like that's, to me, they're the big baddies, and a lot of it is just because I think Chris Ayers did such a great job and Daman Mills has done a great job continuing that character. He's so distinctive. But to your question, I think most of us thought that Beerus would be a character like that, and not, as you've pointed out, a kind of anchor point for the expansion of the show. And I think part of that is because when they decided to relaunch the series and Akira Toriyama had this big idea, it wasn't to just stay in the universe of the show that you knew, but it was like that multiverse idea and kind of expanding the idea of what Dragon Ball is and can be. And so, obviously, Beerus was the first one that we were introduced to, but it's also the character that I think there's still a lot of mystery around Beerus. He's seen things you people wouldn't believe, kind of thing. And, so we wanna know more about it." In a sense, he sees what Beerus has been to Dragon Ball as similar to what another of his beloved roles, Krieg the Psycho in Borderlands 2, was to the Borderlands video games. The situation is different — Krieg started as an added DLC character in the second game, and he hasn't fundamentally changed what the looter shooter series is — but he sees the bandit as another character fans have gravitated to before and continues to be built upon because he was such a breakout success. "I get so many people that tell me that's their favorite character, that's their main, that Krieg is what drew them in, and now they feel like they're always, they're constantly telling me like, ‘Krieg’s my favorite character,' he explained. "Of course, it's me they're talking to, so, of course, they would say that. But, again, unexpected. Even, I think, from the creator's standpoint of knowing, here's this cool character, look how crazy we can make him, and then it becomes a fan favorite, and so they have to find ways to continue to serve that." Dragon Ball Super: Beerus arrives this fall. Stay tuned here at Collider for more information as it draws closer. Release Date 2015 - 2018 Network Fuji TV Showrunner Tatsuya Nagamine Cast Masakazu Morita Whis (voice) Masako Nozawa Son Goku/Goku Black/Son Gohan/Son Goten (voices) Directors Ryota Nakamura, Masanori Sato, Kenichi Takeshita, Takao Iwai, Hideki Hiroshima, Masato Mitsuka, Kazuya Karasawa, Ayumu Ono, Takahiro Imamura, Tatsuya Nagamine, Kôjiro Kawasaki, Kouji Ogawa Writers Ryu King, Hiroshi Yamaguchi Franchise(s) Dragon Ball