Naruto is now in the works on a major live-action feature film debut from the same director behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and an update for its global casting search has revealed that filming with start on the new feature much sooner than fans would think. Destin Daniel Cretton has been pretty busy with Marvel for the last few years working with projects such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Wonder Man, and that unfortunately meant that one of his most curious projects has been on the back burner for the last few years too.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Cretton has been attached to a live-action feature film adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto for several years now, but things are starting to move forward as production on the new film is beginning in full. With the launch of a global casting search, the details for this casting call have been revealed as well. And they confirm that the new movie will begin filming in January 2027 with a commitment needed from those involved through to August at the very least. It’s moving forward quickly.
Naruto Live-Action Movie to Begin Filming in 2027
Casting details revealed through open casting calls from companies such as Carmen Cuba Casting confirms that those cast will have a commitment starting from “January-August 2027” with no prior acting experienced required. Details for the casting reveal that they are currently looking in the 16-20 age range (focusing on Asian or Mixed Race Asian actors) to play 16 years old on screen with experience in martial arts or other movements being a plus. This does seem to be a departure from the ages of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura towards the beginning of the original series, however.
This might seem like it teases that the live-action Naruto film will be jumping straight to the Naruto: Shippuden timeline for its events, but it’s more likely that Cretton is looking for older anchors for the film in general. It will likely be starting from the beginning of Kishimoto’s story, and just skew each of the characters’ ages just a bit in order to fit a live-action version of the kind of intense ninja story that fans loved to see in the original manga and anime releases.
What to Know for New Naruto Live-Action Movie
The global casting search for newcomers is just focused on the Team 7 trio of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, but casting for the other characters will likely be done in a more traditional manner. Even with that being said, it’s likely that the casting is not going to be too far off from who fans might want to see in each particular role. Though filming for it is going to kick off in full next year as production ramps up, no release date or window for Naruto‘s live-action debut has yet to be revealed as of this time.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Wonder Man, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton will be directing the new live-action Naruto movie for Lionsgate Pictures. He will also be co-writing the film together with Tasha Huo. Cretton is also a co-producer on the film alongside Jeyun Munford through Hisako with Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu of Arad Productions, and Jeremy Latcham. Original Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto is directly involved with the film as well, but his contributions are being kept a mystery for now.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
7 Live-Action Anime Adaptations Now in Production (Ranked By Hype Level)
