Out promoting his work on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton offered some new story details about the upcoming live-action film based on the major “Naruto” anime/manga franchise at Lionsgate.
The franchise follows teenage ninja heroes-in-training and centers on Naruto Uzumaki in his quest to become The Hokage – the legendary chosen protector of his embattled ninja village.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, Cretton says his approach to the beloved IP is “no different than anything else that I’ve done” beyond the fact that he “feel[s] very connected to that character, and I have always felt that way.”
That connection only got sharper and more ‘amplified’ upon meeting “Naruto” creator Masashi Kishimoto, and how that “amplified that feeling of connection.” He says:
“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.”
Cretton’s take is expected to focus on the early years of the Naruto character – depicting him as an outcast before he makes friends and devotes himself to his goal of becoming the Hokage.
Cretton co-wrote the script with Tasha Huo, the latter last year indicating the film’s biggest challenge would be “to make it feel real and believable in the world of a live-action movie”.
The manga was serialised and ran from 1999 to 2014. It became one of the world’s most popular IPs, with over 250 million copies of the collected volumes sold. The property also launched several animated series on Cartoon Network, Disney XD, Adult Swim, and others. It has also been a video game and merchandising smash.
