Script for live-action Naruto film is ready, will focus on ‘how nuanced and special Naruto is’

Destin Daniel Cretton’s live-action Naruto film now has a completed script and will tell a “nuanced and unique” story about the yellow-haired ninja-in-training of Hidden Leaf Village.

Our latest update on the film adaptation of one of the biggest anime of all time comes from an interview Entertainment weekly performed with writer Tasha Huo. She says her “script is finished” and has been passed on to Cretton, who is writing and directing the project. A completed script means the Naruto film has reached a major milestone, and Huo says she’s optimistic about its direction. She trusts the director, saying his “very personal and relatable” style is an element of his films that she enjoys.

Huo adds that she thinks the director, best known for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and 2019’s Just Mercy, will take Naruto’s story in a direction that avoids the franchise’s already expansive world.

“I think that’s a really cool choice because it’s able to capture how nuanced and special Naruto is without getting distracted by the big world that it is, which I think could easily be done by someone who’s not a fan or someone who’s coming in for a cash payday,” she says. “This is definitely a film that comes from a love of who Naruto is and that character and his relationships.”

Naruto began as a humble manga series by Masashi Kishimoto in 1997. Since then, its popularity has skyrocketed, with the series not only spawning an anime adaptation of the same name, but also sequels like Naruto: Shippuden and Baruto. It has also spawned a number of video games, such as the Ultimate Ninja Storm series. Even with so much content to draw from, Huo hints at a story that could stick closer to Naruto’s roots.

Cretton was confirmed to have joined the live-action Naruto film earlier this year. The franchise is considered one of the Big Three in the anime world, meaning that expectations for a film adaptation were high when it first got off the ground. Kishimoto at least gave his blessing to the Shang-Chi director to bring Naruto to the big screen, even going so far as to release a statement on the matter when the filmmaker’s involvement was revealed.

“When I heard about Destin’s commitment, it was right after I saw one of his blockbusters, and I thought he would be the perfect director for NARUTO,” Kishimoto said at the time. “After enjoying his other films and understanding that his specialty is making solid dramas about people, I became convinced that there is no other director for NARUTO. When I actually met Destin, I also discovered that he was an open-minded director who was willing to embrace my input, and I had a strong feeling that we could work together in the production process. Simply put, the live-action NARUTO will undoubtedly be a film with spectacular action and deep drama. I can’t help but be excited.”

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