Lionsgate shook the foundations of the world of anime by announcing that the live-action Naruto movie would be written, directed and produced by Marvel’s Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton. While live-action anime adaptations have been controversial in the past, it would seem that projects like Netflix’s One Piece have opened the floodgates for other such projects. Naruto has never before had any sort of live-action adaptation, throwing anime fans for that much more of a loop following the big news.
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One of the things that made Netflix’s live-action series a success was the involvement of franchise creator Eiichiro Oda. Oda was given the role of Executive Producer, and the showrunners of the television show weren’t shy about the fact that they needed the mangaka’s approval on quite a few elements in putting together the series. While Kishimoto isn’t listed as a producer on the Lionsgate film, he has already given director Destin Daniel Cretton his approval.
Here’s what Kishimoto had to say, “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. 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. 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.”
If you missed the news about the upcoming live-action film, the current head of Lionsgate, Adam Fogelson, shared his thoughts, “This manga classic is beloved by millions of fans all around the world, and Destin has delivered a vision for the movie that we believe will excite that massive fan base as well as those who are new to it. Avi and I have had the pleasure of working together before and I know that as we collaborate with Destin and the team on Naruto, we are in extraordinary hands.”
