Narutois one of the most popular manga and anime series of all time, yet unlike most of its peers,the series has still curiously gone without a live-action adaptation. Beloved by millions of fans across the world,Narutocenters on the titular hero, Naruto Uzumaki, a young ambitious ninja harboring a powerful fox spirit who dreams of rising through the ranks of ninja society to become a great Hokage leader. The expansive story is separated into the original run,Naruto Shippuden,which goes over Naruto’s teenage years, andBortuo, set decades laterwith Naruto’s son as the protagonist.
Narutosits in an esteemed Mount Rushmore alongside other manga series with their ownanime adaptations that dominated the shōnen anime genre in the 2000s, referred to as the “big three”, with its other two peers beingOne PieceandBleach.Unlike those two, however,Narutohas somehow never received an official live-action adaptation, despite its outrageous popularity. Of course, even thebest live-action anime adaptationsusually fall far short of the mastery of their source material, butNarutodoes seem particularly suited to a recreation that uses traditional filmmaking.
Naruto Was Better Suited To A Live-Action Adaptation Than One Piece Or Bleach
Which Makes It All The Stranger It’s The Big Three Manga To Not Have One
Bleachwas the first of the big three to get a live-action adaptation with the 2018 movie of the same name. Like the majority oflive-action anime films,Bleachwas produced in Japan, though under the watchful care of Warner Brothers. The film largely regulates its events to the first arc of the manga, which introduces protagonist Ichigo to the world of Soul Reapers and the monstrous Hollows that they hunt. Ending there played against the strengths ofBleach,asthe most cinematic moments of the early story only happen soon afterward in the Soul Society Arc.
More recently, Netflix has seen success against all odds in the Herculean undertaking of adaptingOnce Piecefor live-action, despite the series' particular cartoonishness even for a manga. A serialized episodic format and a more faithful story to the source material has done Netflix’sOne Piecewonders in comparison to theBleachmovie. That being said, huge swaths ofOne Piece’sstory have to be cutfor time, as the infamously long-running manga simply has so much ground to cover.
Comparatively,Narutoseems far better-suited to a live-action adaptation than either of the big three that already have gotten one. While the series has similarly spectacular magical elements that wear heavily on any budget, the relative importance of martial arts inNarutocompared toOne PieceorBleachmeans that thoughtful fight choreography can make up for expensive CGI better. Theinfamous filler episodes ofNarutoalso flag obvious spots in the story to cut, meaning that there’s far less to worry about in terms of sidelining important moments or plot beats in the inevitable trimming down of the story.
What’s Going On With The Planned Live-Action Naruto Movie?
Naruto Is Close To Finally Realizing Its Live-Action Potential
Though a live-action adaptation ofNarutohasn’t happened quite yet, plans are certainly in the works. Currently, a feature film is in development at Lionsgate Studios, spearheaded by Destin Daniel Cretton ofShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsfame as writer, director, and producer. Masashi Kishimoto, the creator ofNaruto, is also directly involved, meaning thatthe upcomingNarutomoviewill likely avoid the common pitfalls that befall so many Hollywood anime adaptations.
A feature film is in development at Lionsgate Studios, spearheaded by Destin Daniel Cretton ofShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ringsfame.
That being said, there are concerns that the scope and budget of Lionsgate’s typical blockbusters will be able to do theNarutoseries justice, and Destin Daniel Cretton has faced scrutiny in his literary adaptation ofThe Glass Castleonce already. Not only that, but the script languished in development hell before being finalized in 2024, meaning that the future of the film is still far from certain, with no public production dates, let alone a release date. Still, if there’s one big three 2000s anime that could truly knock it out of the park in live-action, it’sNaruto.
Naruto
Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists' children and returning faces.
