Sony is co-financing Lionsgate‘s live-action Naruto movie and will handle its international distribution, The Hollywood Reporter reports via Anime News Network. The deal followed multi-studio bidding, and the film has been greenlit to begin production in spring 2027.
Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is directing. He is also producing through his company Hisako alongside Jeyun Munford. Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Emmy Yu of Arad Productions are producers, along with Jeremy Latcham. Tasha Huo, who worked on the Tomb Raider animated series, was previously reported by Variety to be writing the script.
No cast has been locked in. The official Naruto site opened a global casting search for Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura on July 10, with other roles to follow. The Hollywood Reporter had earlier reported that Charles Melton (Riverdale, Beef) was “in final negotiations” to play Kakashi Hatake.
The project has been a long time coming. Lionsgate secured the rights to Masashi Kishimoto‘s manga back in 2015, with Michael Gracey attached to direct at the time. Kishimoto’s ninja saga ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014 and grew into anime series, films, novels, stage plays, video games, and the Boruto sequel.
Kishimoto is not done with the franchise either. As we covered, Kishimoto is drawing a new Naruto manga, Naruto Shadow Rising.
