‘Naruto’ Live-Action Film Gets Major Update From Director

Audiences tend to cringe at the thought of live-action anime, but Michael Gracey doesn’t want [...]

By Megan Peters

Audiences tend to cringe at the thought of live-action anime, but Michael Gracey doesn't want that to be the case with his adaptation. Last year, fans learned the director had been selected to bring Naruto into the real world, but little info has been shared about the ambitious adaptation since.

That is, until now. Recently, Gracey sat down with Collider for an interview, and it was there he opened up about his work on Naruto with the series' creator Masashi Kishimoto.

According to Gracey, the script for Naruto is being worked on right now, so he isn't sure if the project will be his next.

"I don't know [if it will be my next film], to be honest," the director said

Continuing, Gracey said he was working very closely with Kishimoto to bring Naruto to life, and he has been rather encouraged by the artist's vision.

"You know Kishimoto, who created the original series, he's just a genius. So many Hollywood adaptations of really popular manga series just don't get it right, and for me what was really important was that if I was gonna do Naruto, I wanted to actually work with Kishimoto and get a script to a stage where he would look at it and be excited about realizing it. Because no one knows the world better than the person who created it."

Until the script is done, Gracey says he is fine waiting as he wants the story to be one he's excited about as a fan of the series himself.

"So for me, as it stands, we're still working on the script. Because until that script is at a level that I'm excited about, I have no interest in destroying an amazing franchise, as has happened before. But I think the great thing is that everyone involved, from Lionsgate to the producers, are all of the same mind," the director stressed.

"Everyone knows how precious this property is and to me it's incredibly exciting, and I love the work that I've gotten to do on it to date. At this stage, no one is going to go into production until we've got a script that excites everyone. So whether it's my next one or not, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

Are you eager to see what Gracey and his team has in store for Naruto? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

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