A live-action Naruto movie is in the works from Shang-Chi director, Destin Daniel Cretton. The news was announced on Friday afternoon by The Hollywood Reporter with the outlet confirming the director officially signed on to the project for Lionsgate. A movie based on Naruto, which is one of the biggest mangas of all time, has been in development since 2015, however, very little movement has been made on the project until now.
In November of 2023, it was revealed that Red Sonja writer, Tasha Hao, was working on a script for a Naruto movie. Now with Cretton on board, it’s currently unclear whether he will rework Hao’s script or start over completely. Along with writing and directing the feature, Cretton is also set to produce the film alongside Jeyun Munford, Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Emmy Yu and Jeremy Latcham.
Masashi Kishimoto, who created the manga, celebrate the news of Cretton’s involvement. The creator explained how he felt Cretton was the perfect choice for the project, especially after getting to meet the in-demand director.
“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 Naturo. 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.”
Cretton, who most recently worked on an adaptation of American Born Chinese for Disney+, is still developing a Shang-Chi sequel with Marvel Studios.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
