Live-action “Naruto” movie in the works from “Shang-Chi” director Destin Daniel Cretton

Believe it!

Get ready to see the Naruto run in live-action.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton is set to write, direct, and produce a live-action adaptation of the legendary manga Naruto for Lionsgate, EW has learned. THR was the first to report the news.

Created by Masashi Kishimoto in 1997, the original Japanese comic follows the journey of Naruto Uzumaki, a young orphan warrior who is ostracized from his community because of a powerful demon spirit sealed within his body. The spiky-haired, ramen-addicted hero undergoes rigorous training to achieve his dream of becoming his village’s leader and most powerful ninja.

The manga ran from 1999 to 2014, quickly becoming one of the medium’s most popular titles of all time. It was adapted into two separate animated series that collectively ran for over 700 episodes to global acclaim.

Cretton made waves with his 2013 drama Short Term 12 and demonstrated his martial arts blockbuster chops with Shang-Chi in 2021. He also helmed two episodes of American Born Chinese last year, and is working on Marvel’s Wonder Man series for Disney+.

Kishimoto gave Cretton his blessing to adapt Naruto for live-action. “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,” Kishimoto said in a statement provided to EW. “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.”

The Naruto adaptation is the latest in a wave of American live-action adaptations of popular manga and anime series, including One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, and Alita Battle Angel.

Shortly after the manga concluded, Kishimoto told EW that he thinks the series debuted at the perfect time to connect with global audiences. “During the series, manga exploded, and I must say that part of what made Naruto successful was the globalization of manga, and the fact that all over the world, fans can enjoy and read manga even though the reading order is different than what people are used to,” he told EW. “Originally, manga was this little niche industry, only appreciated by fans even in Japan. Now most laypeople are aware.”

Kishimoto attributes the series’ broad appeal to its universal coming-of-age themes. “I definitely think that some of the overarching themes in Naruto are not defined by any one particular culture,” he said. “I think everyone, no matter where they live and what they look like, will come up against obstacles and have to overcome them. And that theme in Naruto is something people can relate to.”

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Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.