Naruto has pinged Destin Daniel Cretton to direct its live-action debut at Lionsgate.
Believe it, guys – Naruto is heading to Hollywood. For a few years now, the team at Lionsgate has been working to bring the knuckle-headed ninja to life. Not long ago, reports confirmed director Destin Daniel Cretton will oversee the project with co-writer Tasha Huo. Now, the latter is opening up about the film, and it turns out the initial script for Naruto is finished.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Huo updated fans on Naruto while promoting her work on Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. The writer said she feels Cretton’s vision for Naruto is “very personal and relatable” while also staying nuanced.
“I think that’s such a cool choice because he’s going to be able to capture how nuanced and special Naruto is without getting distracted by the big world that it is, which I think could easily be done by someone who’s not a fan or someone who’s coming in for a cash payday,” she says. “This is definitely a movie that comes at it from a love of who Naruto is and that character and his relationships,” Huo explained.
With the co-writer’s first script finished, Cretton is now tweaking elements of the story to fit his vision. At this point, Lionsgate has no expected release window for Naruto, but the live-action project is moving ahead at full speed. Even series creator Masashi Kishimoto gave his blessing for Cretton’s film as the Naruto artist is a fan of their movies.
“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 shared.
“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.”
Want to know more about Naruto ahead of its Hollywood push? You can find the legendary anime streaming everywhere from Hulu to Crunchyroll and Freevee. So for more info on Naruto, you can read its official synopsis below for more details:
“Twelve years ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a fearsome threat. A nine-tailed fox spirit claimed the life of the village leader, the Hokage, and many others. Today, the village is at peace and a troublemaking kid named Naruto is struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy. His goal may be to become the next Hokage, but his true destiny will be much more complicated. The adventure begins now!”
What do you think about this latest update on Naruto? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
