While Disney and Warner Bros. are re-calibrating their respective superhero franchises to win audiences back over, studios are capitalizing on the enduring popularity of anime with live-action remakes of the biggest properties—including Naruto, which just landed a director straight from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to THR, Destin Daniel Cretton, co-writer and director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, has signed on to write and direct the live-action Naruto movie for Lionsgate. Cretton recently exited Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which is reportedly dropping “Kang” from the title as Marvel moves on from the supervillain following Jonathan Majors’ assault conviction. In addition to Shang-Chi, Cretton wrote and directed Short Term 12, the truly incredible 2013 film starring Brie Larson and LaKeith Stanfield, and co-wrote and directed the 2019 legal drama Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan.
Naruto was created by Masashi Kishimoto and was originally published as a manga, with new installments dropping weekly from 1999 to 2014. Animation studio Pierrot adapted Naruto into a hit anime series of the same name, which launched in 2002. Including Naruto: Shippuden, there are 720 episodes of Naruto in total, but it seems likely that the live-action movie will keep things simple by starting at the beginning: When we meet Naruto Uzumaki, he’s training to become a ninja in the Hidden Leaf Village. He’s an ambitious kid who dreams of becoming a Hokage, the name given to the strongest shinobi in each village.
A live-action adaptation of Naruto has been in development since 2015, when The Greatest Showman‘s Michael Gracey signed on to direct for Spider-Man producer Avi Arad. Last fall, Lionsgate hired screenwriter Tasha Huo (The Witcher: Blood Origin). With Cretton on board, it seems that the studio is really committed to finally getting this movie off the ground, and while Lionsgate hasn’t set a release date, it’s possible that we could see the live-action Naruto movie by 2026.
(featured image: Pierrot)
