Lionsgate to turn Naruto into a live-action film

Destin Daniel Cretton will direct and write this big-screen manga adaptation, with Avi Arad's production company attached.
February 26, 2024

A live-action film based on Masashi Kishimoto’s manga/anime franchise Naruto is picking up steam at Lionsgate. 

The LA-based studio, which has been quietly developing the project since at least 2015 with Kishimoto on board as an advisor, has now tapped Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) to serve as a director/scriptwriter. 

Naruto‘s manga canon follows the adventures of a young ninja and outcast who dreams of one day becoming the respected leader of his village, but bears the spirit of a destructive nine-tailed fox inside his body. It was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1999 to 2014 and now spans 72 volumes that have collectively sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. 

Producers on the Lionsgate film include Arad Productions chairman Avi Arad and VP of development Emmy Yu, who are best known for producing superhero Hollywood blockbusters including Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man trilogy (2002) and Marvel Studios’ Iron Man (2008). They will be joined on the project by former Marvel Studios SVP Jeremy Latcham (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, The Avengers) and Jeyun Munford, through her company Hisako. 

The Naruto IP previously spawned two long-running 2D-animated series for teens that were co-produced by Japan’s Studio Pierrot and Aniplex. With a combined total of 720 episodes,  Naruto (2002 to 2007) and Naruto: Shippuden (2007 to 2017) aired on channels including TV Tokyo, Cartoon Network, YTV and Disney XD. The property has also been expanded into licensed consumer products, video games, location-based entertainment and a sequel series called Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. 

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