The “worldwide casting search” for Destin Daniel Cretton’s live-action Naruto cast has finally begun, according to a post by the Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director.
While Cretton’s post was understandably light on the specifics, he did state that the search for “Team 7” is the current focus of the casting search, which means that Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and, most likely, Kakashi will be the first roles up for grabs.
Cretton’s casting search post marks the first actual production development for the live-action Naruto film since production company Lionsgate announced that it had secured the rights to adapt Masashi Kishimoto’s manga back in 2015. Cretton became attached to the project as director and co-writer after its previous director, Michael Gracey, dropped out in 2024.
“Kishimoto-sensei’s stories have inspired generations of fans around the globe, and it’s an honor to bring his world and characters to the big screen in live action for the very first time,” reads Cretton’s Instagram post. “I’m thrilled to kick off this worldwide casting search for our Team 7 and to bring the incredible universe of Naruto to life.”
Understandably, given the questionable quality of the overwhelming majority of live-action anime adaptations, the Naruto fans in the Instagram comments don’t seem to be too thrilled with the announcement. However, Kishimoto has already given Cretton his blessing on several occasions and, according to the publishing imprint behind the Naruto manga, will be directly “involved with the production” of the film.
Kishimoto also shared his excitement for the casting search in a statement on the official Naruto website earlier today: “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!”
Personally, I’m very curious to find out what kind of age range the casting directors will search for. There’s a lot of ground to cover between Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden, and the two-year time jump that occurs between the two halves of the story will only make casting even more difficult.
For instance, if they end up casting actors who are 13 for the first film, by the time production starts on the second film, they’ll likely already be a couple of years older…and that’s gonna make things awkward by the time the story gets to the events of Naruto: Shippuden later on. Best of luck to the casting directors, because they’re gonna need it.