Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, has signed on with Lionsgate to direct the Naruto live-action movie. Cretton will direct and write the movie in collaboration with original manga author Masashi Kishimoto.
Lionsgate originally closed the rights to adapt Naruto into a film in July 2015, and was originally in talks with The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey to direct. Regarding the appointment of Cretton as director, Kishimoto said:
“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 Naruto.”
“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. To put it simply, the live-action Naruto is bound to be a film with spectacular action and profound drama. I can’t help but be excited for it.”
Cretton also echoed the positive sentiments. “It was a true honor to meet Kishimoto-san in Tokyo and hear his expansive vision for his creation. We are very excited to collaborate and bring Naruto to the big screen,” said the director.
