According to insider Daniel Richtman, Lionsgate plans to begin production of the \"Naruto\" movie in 2026 — after director Destin Daniel Cretton completes work on \"Spider-Man: A New Day\". It was previously assumed that filming would begin much later due to the director's busy schedule, but, reportedly, preliminary preparations for casting are already underway.
Cretton, who also directed \"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,\" officially took over the project in 2024 and took on not only directing but also working on the script. Before him, Tasha Huo was working on the adaptation, whose name has recently been increasingly associated with unsuccessful projects, including \"Red Sonja\" and the Tomb Raider anime.
Attempts to bring Masashi Kishimoto's story to the big screen have been discussed for almost a decade. The film was first talked about in 2015, when Michael Gracey (\"The Greatest Showman\") was appointed as director. In subsequent years, \"Naruto\" periodically appeared in Lionsgate's plans, before disappearing again from the studio's current reports.
If all goes well, filming will begin in the fall of 2026 and last for several months. In this case, the premiere may take place no later than 2028.
\"Naruto\" is part of the so-called \"big three\" of Japanese franchises — along with \"Bleach\" and \"One Piece\". Of this trio, only the story of the red-haired ninja has not yet received a full-length adaptation: a live-action film based on \"Bleach\" was released back in 2018, and \"One Piece\" recently achieved great success on Netflix.