Masashi Kishimoto reacts to Destin Daniel Cretton joining ‘Naruto’ live-action film as director

Driving the news: Cretton has been tapped to direct and write the live-action adaptation of Kishimoto’s famous manga, according to the Hollywood Reporter. It remains unclear if Cretton will co-write the series alongside Tasha Huo, who was announced as the film’s screenwriter in November 2023.

About “Naruto”: Created by Kishimoto, “Naruto” is one of the world’s most popular manga franchises of all time, with a record of approximately 250 million copies sold worldwide since its release on Sept. 21, 1999. The series is considered one of the “Big Three” of anime, a term used to describe the most popular running titles in Shuheisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump during their golden age in the mid-2000s, with the other two being “Bleach” and “One Piece.”

“Naruto” follows the story of Uzumaki Naruto, an orphan boy ninja who aspires to be the great leader, also known as a Hokage, of their home country, Konohagakure.

“Expansive vision”: In a statement, Cretton said he was honored to meet Kishimoto during his trip to Tokyo and “hear his expansive vision for his creation.” He added, “We are very excited to collaborate and bring ‘Naruto’ to the big screen.”

Meanwhile, Kishimoto praised the “Shang-Chi” director and said he believed that he “would be the perfect director” for the live-action adaptation after seeing his movies.

“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,” Kishimoto noted. “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.”

About the project: The live-action adaptation has reportedly been in development since 2015.

In addition to directing and writing, Cretton will also be serving as a producer along with Jeyun Munford and Arad Productions’ Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu, the same studio behind the film adaptation of the video game “Borderlands.” Jeremy Latcham of “Dungeons and Dragons” will also produce.