Yahoo Movies Marvel's Shang-Chi director joins Naruto movie
Destin Daniel Cretton, the director of Marvel's Shang-Chi, will write and direct the live-action Naruto movie.
Studio Lionsgate confirmed the news, with quotes from both Cretton and Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of the series, which started as a manga in 1999 and has since spun off into anime, video games and a ton of merchandise.
Cretton said (via Variety): "It was a true honour 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."
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"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," Kishimoto said. "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.
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"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."
Live-action anime adaptations have historically had a mixed response, with projects like Dragon Ball: Evolution, the Fullmetal Alchemist trilogy, and Death Note seen as hugely disappointing, but the likes of Netflix's One Piece received a positive buzz.
Meanwhile, Cretton was announced to direct Marvel's next Avengers movie, but decided to step back from that job late last year. At the time of writing, he is still set to direct a Shang-Chi sequel.
The Naruto anime and its sequels can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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