Naruto Live-Action Reboot’s First Story Details Revealed By Director

Naruto‘s live-action reboot finally gets some story details.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton has revealed the first story elements to expect from the upcoming movie reboot of the popular anime series. The upcoming Naruto movie comes from Lionsgate, with Cretton leading the charge as director for the new live-action anime adaptation. Pulling from the pages of Masashi Kishimoto’s manga, the story follows the orphaned boy Naruto Uzumaki, who is shunned by his village for being the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox, a dangerous demon. The series follows his goal of becoming the village’s leader, or Hokage.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Cretton revealed new story details about the live-action Naruto movie, unpacking his approach to the forthcoming film. The director explained how he’d met with Kishimoto himself to discuss how the manga would be translated to the big screen, specifically in the way Naruto feels like an outsider to everyone else in his village. The underdog trope that defines the manga will have a big role to play in the movie’s story, with the director feeling a close bond to the character because of this.

Check out what Cretton had to say below:

Honestly, no different than anything else that I’ve done. The cool thing is I feel very connected to that character, and I have always felt that way. When I met Kishimoto-san, the creator, it just amplified that feeling of connection. I think his journey in the story that we are going to tell is something that I find very personal not only culturally, but emotionally. His trajectory, his feelings of being an outsider, the feeling of having an ugliness or a monster or some part of you that you’re ashamed of, and then coming to realize that’s the part that makes you unique, that gives you your power, that is a story that feels very close to me.

With Naruto‘s creator approving of the live-action movie, the film is poised to stay true to the source material, even if some alterations are made for a live-action approach. A global casting search is currently underway for actors to portray the core trio of Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. The movie is reportedly aiming to start filming later this year; however, a release window hasn’t been set yet. Creston’s vision of the franchise appears in line with the early chapters of the series, which showcase Naruto as an outcast before making friends and training to become Hokage.

While it’s unclear what arcs the story will cover, Creston’s vision for the movie sounds like it will be pulled from Prologue — Land of Waves, the very first arc of the manga. This follows Naruto as he begins his training, befriends Sasuke and Sakura, and gets his first assignment. He does this while grappling with his status as an outsider, which sounds like an important attribute of how Creston is approaching the movie’s story. Although some changes to the source material may be inevitable, the spirit of the manga will clearly be retained.

Naruto is the next step in live-action anime adaptations, and potentially another success story for shōnen manga on screens big and small. The recent One Piece season 2 on Netflix debuted to high viewership and critical acclaim, with season 3 now in development for a 2027 release. The ninja-focused movie is also one of many live-action anime projects in the works right now, including adaptations of My Hero Academia, Gundam, and Attack on Titan.

Since Cretton has a clear vision for how Naruto is going to look, the live-action movie has an opportunity to further the franchise on the big screen. Given the approval Kishimoto has shown for the project, it seems like the director’s ideas will offer plenty of familiarity, while also delivering a story that’s perfectly adapted for a live-action showcase.

Video Game(s)

Naruto: Clash Of Ninja Revolution 3, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (2003), Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja, Naruto: The Broken Bond, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, Naruto Shippuden Dragon Blade Chronicles, Naruto: Path Of The Ninja, Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections

Cast

Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei

Latest Film

Boruto: Naruto the Movie