The Live-Action NARUTO Movie is Finally Moving Forward as Casting for Team 7 Begins
It’s been a long road for the live-action Naruto movie, but this time it actually feels real. More than a decade has passed since Lionsgate picked up the rights to adapt the legendary manga into a Hollywood feature.
Fans have watched the project sit in development for years, wondering if it would ever get off the ground. Now, after more than two years since Destin Daniel Cretton signed on to direct, things are finally picking up in a major way.
Cretton has officially announced that casting is underway for Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, the iconic trio known as Team 7. With the search now happening on a worldwide scale, the movie has taken its biggest step forward yet.
Sharing the news on social media, Cretton expressed just how much the series means to him, saying: “Kishimoto-sensei’s stories have inspired generations of fans around the world, and it’s an honor to bring his world and characters to the big screen in live action for the very first time.
“ I’m thrilled to kick off this worldwide casting search for our Team 7 and to bring the incredible universe of Naruto to life!” After years of waiting, fans finally have something concrete to get excited about.
The excitement is shared by Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, who reflected on the surreal journey his manga has taken since debuting more than 25 years ago. In a press release, he said:
“Right now, miracles are happening to me, one after another. My work, Naruto, is truly, truly becoming a Hollywood movie! And an even greater miracle is that the film will be directed by the one and only Destin Daniel Cretton.
“I still cannot believe it! If so many miracles have already come together, then let us hope for even more. I am eagerly looking forward to the miraculous encounters that will bring us extraordinary and passionate actors! I cannot wait to meet my characters in the film!”
Originally published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1999, Naruto quickly grew into one of the biggest manga and anime franchises in the world.
Between its massively successful anime series, feature-length animated movies, video games, novels, and endless merchandise, the ninja saga has built an enormous global fanbase. Surprisingly, one thing it has never received is a big-budget live-action Hollywood adaptation.
Now that casting has officially kicked off, it seems reasonable to think production could begin sometime in 2027, though nothing has been announced yet. If that timeline holds, a theatrical release in 2028 feels like a possibility, but that’s still just speculation.
The biggest question now is who will end up playing Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Casting these characters is going to be one of the most important decisions the filmmakers make, and fans are undoubtedly going to have plenty of opinions once names start surfacing.
What do you think? Who would you cast as Team 7, and are you excited to finally see Naruto make the leap to live-action?