Shang-Chi’s Destin Daniel Cretton Will Make the Naruto Movie

The Naruto movie isn’t just real, it’s also got an acclaimed director at the helm.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, Marvel director Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) will direct and write an adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto’s beloved shonen. As with Borderlands, Lionsgate has been trying to get a movie for this off the ground since 2015, and it was confirmed to be back in the works last November following the success of Netflix’s One Piece. Cretton will also produce the project through his production company Hisako, alongside business partner Jeyun Munford.

Citing the success of Shang-Chi’s first movie, Kishimoto called Cretton “the perfect director for Naruto.” Clearly, he’s a fan: “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. In actually meeting [him], 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.”

Naruto is about the titular 12-year-old ninja in the land of Konoha who had a demonic fox sealed inside his body from the moment he was born. As he starts coming into those powers, he sets out to become the village leader alongside other ninja friends and foes. The overall franchise is extremely popular thanks to its anime and video game offshoots, along with the sequel series Boruto.

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