Sony joins Lionsgate's live-action Naruto, with Destin Daniel Cretton set to start filming in 2027
Sony Pictures will co-finance Lionsgate's live-action Naruto film and lead its international release, the studios said on November 3. Destin Daniel Cretton writes, directs and produces; filming is expected in 2027, and there is no release date or confirmed cast.
A live-action Naruto that has been in the works since 2015 now has two studios behind it. Sony Pictures will help pay for Lionsgate's adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto's ninja manga and will steer its release outside the U.S., the companies said on Tuesday, November 3. According to TheWrap, Sony won its seat after several studios bid for the partnership.
Lionsgate stays in charge of developing and making the film, and it keeps the domestic release. Dark Horizons, citing The Hollywood Reporter, says the agreement also gives the project its green light.
Why Sony
Destin Daniel Cretton is the link. He is writing, directing and producing Naruto, and TheWrap notes that his most recent Sony and Marvel Studios release, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, took $2.52 billion at the global box office. Dark Horizons points to his three-year deal with Sony and to the fact that Sony owns Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service.
In the announcement, Adam Fogelson, who chairs Lionsgate's film division, called the property "a global phenomenon with a passionate fanbase and enormous potential as a theatrical event," while Sony film chief Tom Rothman said "we are honored to be chosen as their partner."
A long road to the screen
Lionsgate first closed its deal with Cretton in February 2024, an agreement the official Naruto site reported at the time. That announcement said the director had met Kishimoto in Tokyo, and that Kishimoto took an interest in him after seeing one of his action films, saying Cretton's "forte is in creating solid dramas about people." Before the Marvel films, Cretton made Short Term 12 and The Glass Castle, the latter also with Lionsgate. He directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
He produces through his company Hisako with Jeyun Munford, alongside Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu of Arad Productions and Jeremy Latcham. James Myers, who oversaw The Glass Castle, supervises the project at Lionsgate together with Erin Westerman.
What is and isn't confirmed
Cameras are expected to roll in 2027: TheWrap says production starts in the spring, Dark Horizons early in the year. No release date has been set.
No actor has been officially announced. Dark Horizons repeats a report that Charles Melton is in talks to play Kakashi Hatake, the series' mentor figure, but neither studio has confirmed it.
Kishimoto's manga has now topped 250 million copies in print. Its TV anime ran for 220 episodes from 2002, then for 500 more as Naruto: Shippuden from 2007, and per TheWrap it has been seen in over 145 countries and territories.
