Naruto Live-Action Movie Being Written and Helmed by Shang-Chi Director

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Anime adaptations have had a bad history in Hollywood, but that’s starting to change. Lionsgate Films has hired Marvel’s Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton to write and direct a live-action Naruto film.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Cretton will produce the film alongside Jeyun Munford through his production company Hisako. Munford previously served as the Senior Vice President of Universal Pictures and has nearly twenty years of experience as a film executive. Besides her, the film will be produced by Ari Arad and Emmy Yu, who are also responsible for the upcoming Borderlands adaptation, and Jeremy Latcham (Dungeons & Dragons).

A Naruto live-action movie has been in development for nearly a decade at this point, with The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey previously attached to helm the project. The addition of Cretton to the project should be good news to fans, as the director has shown his mettle for balancing action and drama with films like Shang-Chi, Short Term 12, The Glass Castle, and Just Mercy.

Of course, don’t expect filming to begin anytime soon as Cretton is currently very busy at Marvel Studios. The filmmaker is currently working on Wonder Man and a Shang-Chi sequel. He was also attached to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, though talks fell through late last year as that film is being reworked.

Naruto is one of the world’s biggest manga franchises, with 72 volumes of manga, two anime series, multiple video games, animated film spinoffs, and a sequel series being enjoyed by fans around the world. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise, four new episodes are set to air sometime in 2024.

“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,” said Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the Naruto manga. “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.”

“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.”

Related: First New Naruto Episodes In 6 Years Delayed

Naruto is being produced by Lionsgate and currently has no release date.