Toei Animation says Dragon Ball rightsholders “have not granted any licenses” for theme park construction in France

Toei Animation, one of the rightsholders of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise, has issued a statement addressing recent reports about the construction of a Dragon Ball Z-themed amusement park in France. According to the company, “neither Toei Animation nor other rightsholders have granted any licenses regarding the matter, and are not aware of any such plans.”

News about the project broke last week, when the Élysée Palace announced that France and Saudi Arabia would be collaborating on a theme park worth $7 billion, set to be constructed northwest of Paris. Reuters reported that the idea originated during a 2025 meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, both of whom are fans of Akira Toriyama’s work.

While no opening date had been announced, the project appeared to be fully in motion. However, it seems the French Dragon Ball theme park is missing something crucial – a license. In its recent statement, Toei Animation clarifies that the concept images and videos of the theme park used in news reports were all sourced from the announcement of the Dragon Ball-themed amusement park planned for construction in Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia. This theme park was announced back on March 22, 2024 under a license from Toei Animation and other relevant parties.

However, this does not seem to be the case for the new theme park pending construction in France. According to the new statement, Dragon Ball’s rightsholders in Japan have not only not granted a license for the project, but were unaware of such plans in the first place.