Naruto, one of the most popular Japanese mangas of all time, will be getting the live-action treatment on the big screen thanks to Lionsgate and the film's director and writer, Destin Daniel Cretton.
The news was announced on Friday with very few details on what Cretton has in store for Naruto fans. Cretton, who co-wrote and directed Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, will also be producing the film alongside Jeremy Latcham, Jeyun Munford, and his company, Hisako. Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Emmy Yu for Arad Productions will also be joining the production team.
The Naruto film adaptation has been in development since 2015, and Cretton's hiring shows a step in the right direction in getting it on the big screen. Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, spoke highly of Cretton's inclusion in the film in a statement and spoke on giving his blessing after they met in Tokyo, Japan.
"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 Kishimoto. "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 Naurto."
He added, "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."
Naruto tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young and passionate ninja whose dream is to become Hokage, the leader of his ninja village. The only problem is he has a tailed beast inside of him that happened to destroy his village when he was born. The series was published in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014.
Naruto sold over 250 million copies of the manga in over 60 countries and territories. It was also turned into several successful entities, including an anime show that aired on Cartoon Network, Disney XD, and Adult Swim as well as a popular video game series.
