The Naruto live-action casting call is officially underway, as Lionsgate launches a global search for the three lead ninjas of Team 7 ahead of pre-production on the highly anticipated manga adaptation.
The production studio and director Destin Daniel Cretton announced the worldwide search, inviting hopefuls to audition for the roles of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura in a live-action adaptation of one of the world’s best-selling manga series.
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The casting call marks one of the project’s biggest milestones yet, signaling that the long-awaited film is moving into active production after years of development.
Naruto live-action casting call: A worldwide hunt for Team 7
While Lionsgate has yet to detail the specifics of the audition process, the announcement has already generated a wave of excitement online.
Destin shared the news through an Instagram post, where he described the project as an opportunity to bring Kishimoto Masashi’s world to live action for the first time.
The post has since drawn attention from fans and several aspiring actors who left comments expressing interest in trying out for the roles.
Casting for the rest of the ensemble, including other members of the Hidden Leaf Village, is expected to be announced at a later date.
Series creator Kishimoto Masashi also addressed the franchise’s milestone on the official Naruto website. The Naruto creator expressed disbelief that his manga is becoming a Hollywood film and said he could hardly believe Destin would be the one directing the Naruto live-action film.
Kishimoto is looking forward to the “miraculous encounters” that would bring passionate new actors into the fold, adding that he could not wait to see his characters brought to life on screen.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton is best known in blockbuster circles for directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Marvel franchise’s first film centered on an Asian superhero. The 2021 blockbuster grossed more than US$430 million worldwide and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
He is also the director of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. On television, he directed episodes for Disney’s American Born Chinese, and had also directed and co-created Wonder Man.
Lionsgate’s Naruto movie arrives as live-action adaptations of beloved anime and animated properties continue to multiply.
Netflix’s One Piece live-action series turned into a surprise hit after years of skepticism from fans wary of adaptations. Meanwhile, Avatar: The Last Airbender also got its own live-action treatment on Netflix.
Expectations for the Naruto live-action debut are high, and the studio’s decision to launch a public, worldwide casting search suggests it is aiming to get the casting right from the start.
What is the Naruto franchise all about?
Naruto first ran as a manga in Weekly Shonen Jump in September 1999, before becoming an anime series that helped define shonen storytelling for a generation of fans outside Japan.
The manga ran for 15 years, ending in 2014 after 700 chapters collected into 72 volumes, and was adapted into two anime television series:
- the original Naruto (220 episodes)
- its sequel Naruto: Shippuden (500 episodes), totaling roughly 720 episodes
along with 11 animated films and a dozen original video animations.
The story follows the titular outcast ninja, Naruto, who chases recognition and the title of Hokage, alongside teammates Sasuke and Sakura under the Hidden Leaf Village’s Team 7.
Decades after its debut, the franchise remains one of the best-selling manga series of all time, with roughly 250 million copies in circulation worldwide, and continues to grow through spin-offs like Boruto, video games, and merchandise.
Talk of a Naruto live-action film has circulated in Hollywood for years, with the project moving between studios and stalling more than once before Lionsgate took over.
