Naruto, the massive anime and manga franchise, is set to reach an all-new medium. The brand first debuted in 1999, and now more than two decades later, Naruto is set to be reimagined as a live-action movie from Lionsgate.
This is certainly an exciting development for fans of the franchise. Especially as live-action adaptations of manga and anime properties has become a more popular trend in recent years. In fact, after the success of the live-action One Piece adaptation, this isn’t too surprising.
It’s been shared by Variety that “Lionsgate has closed a deal with ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ director Destin Daniel Cretton to write and direct a live-action film adaptation of the manga classic ‘Naruto.’ The announcement was made today by Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.”
The director of the project, Destin Daniel Cretton, shared the following statement:
“It was a true honor to meet Kishimoto-san in Tokyo and hear his expansive vision for his creation,” said Cretton. “We are very excited to collaborate and bring ‘Naruto’ to the big screen.”
An additional statement was shared by Naruto manga creator Masashi Kishimoto:
“When I heard of Destin’s attachment, it happened to be right after watching a blockbuster action film of his, and I thought he would be the perfect director for ‘Naruto.’ After enjoying his other films and understanding that his forte is in creating solid dramas about people, I became convinced that there is no other director for ‘Naruto.’”
“In actually meeting Destin, I also found him to be an open-minded director who was willing to embrace my input, and felt strongly that we would be able to cooperate together in the production process,” Kishimoto continued. “To put it simply, the live-action ‘Naruto’ is bound to be a film with spectacular action and profound drama. I can’t help but be excited for it.”
Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu will produce for Arad Productions with Jeremy Latcham. Cretton is producing alongside Jeyun Munford through his company, Hisako.
Lastly, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, Adam Fogelson, shared the following statement:
“This manga classic is beloved by millions of fans all around the world, and Destin has delivered a vision for the movie that we believe will excite that massive fan base as well as those who are new to it,” Fogelson said. “Avi and I have had the pleasure of working together before and I know that as we collaborate with Destin and the team on ‘Naruto,’ we are in extraordinary hands.”
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates on the upcoming live-action Naruto project as we have them. It’s certainly going to be an interesting new era for the franchise and its fans.