Twentieth Century Fox has acquired the rights to DRAGONBALL and plans to produce a live-action feature film based on the manga property. DRAGONBALL began as a graphic novel and has become a multimedia phenomenon, including home video, video games and the popular DRAGONBALL Z animated series currently airing on Cartoon Network. The various DRAGONBALL properties relate an epic story between good and evil, involving super-powerful beings from another planet, known as the Saiyans, who protect Earth from the forces of darkness. Fox acquired the rights from creator Akira Toriyama and publisher Shueisha and all parties announced their intention to pursue development of other manga and anime properties controlled by Shueisha.