Naruto fans have been waiting since 2015 for the Naruto live-action movie that was announced by Lionsgate. However, due to multiple reasons, the movie has yet to see the light of day. As the craze of live-action projects skyrocketed after the release of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece live-action by Netflix, fans of Naruto once again got hope that the movie might finally get a release date.
The movie also got some new updates with a new scriptwriter and director joining the production, but it looks like the hopes of Naruto fans are about to be crushed. According to recent reports, the Naruto live-action adaptation might be a disaster as the showrunners and the creators have little to no knowledge of the narrative.
Although there were initially some reports of Kishimoto being involved in the project, these new updates might shatter the hopes of Naruto fans to see a successful live-action movie. Thus, Lionsgate needs to learn from the One Piece live-action and confirm Kishimoto’s involvement if they wish to make a good adaptation.
Masashi Kishimoto’s Involvement With Naruto Live-Action
A few months ago, Lionsgate made an official announcement that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton will be working on the Naruto live-action movie. This was the first time in years that fans finally got some good news regarding the project. Even Kishimoto was happy with the news.
The Hollywood Reporter even shared a statement from Kishimoto:
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.
Not only that, the manga creator also stated that Cretton understood his input and it would be fun to work with him on the project:
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.
However, since then, no new update for the movie has been reported. Even the hype of Masashi Kishimoto being involved with the project died down when fans got to know supposedly the Naruto live-action movie was going to be a disaster.
Thus, as of right now, fans have no understanding of what is going on with the project and whether or not they will get to see the Naruto live-action movie.
Lionsgate Needs To Bring Masashi Kishimoto On Board
As the recent updates about Lionsgate’s Naruto live-action movie started spreading around the internet, fans have started criticizing it. The producers’ alleged incompetence in learning completely about the Naruto narrative has left the hopes in the dust for getting a successful adaptation.
Thus, Naruto fans gathered together to demand the confirmation of Kishimoto being involved in the production of the movie.
While some fans compared the “upcoming” live-action adaptation to the other failed projects, others asked Lionsgate to learn from Netflix’s One Piece adaptation.
If kishimoto isn’t directly involved then I don’t want it man just cancel it
— ItsAkko (@itsakko237) August 7, 2024
This is why you should ALWAYS have people who know the IP working on it AND have the author involved, its why OPLA is so successful because it actually had one piece fans working on it not random people.
— LuffyPortal (@HelaPortal) August 7, 2024
Oh so another dragon ball disaster upcoming?
— Wenzan 🐉💫🐏👾🍬 (@RatKnight14) August 7, 2024
Naruto Evolution let’s go!
— meme bastard (@mask_bastard) August 8, 2024
Probably saw the reaction to one piece live action and went oh that's easy not knowing the reason that the one piece was good was because how many of the cast and crew loved the source material
— Goth Mommy Chizuru (@bestgirlchizuru) August 7, 2024
Naruto has been successful in the fields of manga, anime, video games, and merchandise. The only gem that is left to be added to its crown is a successful live-action adaptation. This can only be possible if Lionsgate adds Kishimoto to the production of the movie just like One Piece live-action did with Eiichiro Oda.
