The last major update fans got regarding Lionsgate’s Naruto live-action movie was that a script was being written, but that’s about to change. Tasha Huo, the scribe for Netflix’s upcoming Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft animated series, has hopped onboard the project, joining director Micheal Gracey (The Greatest Showman, Pink: All I Know So Far) on the team.
Variety released a list of 10 screenwriters to watch, crediting Huo’s next project as writing the script for Lionsgate’s Naruto live-action adaptation. Huo was also the writer for The Witcher: Blood Origin, as well as the forthcoming Mighty Nein and Red Sonja.
For Huo, it’s a fan’s dream to adapt beloved properties. “Adapting iconic characters or IP makes the writing of it easier, because the passion for writing it is already there,” she said. “I’m so inspired by these characters already that it’s exciting to just take a part of their journey and try to tell that fun story in a way that would appeal to me as a fan.”
While no firm milestones or teasers have been released, this update is good news, as it indicates the project is still in the works.
Reports of a live-action Naruto movie first came about in 2015, when Lionsgate acquired rights to the film. Gracey was said to take on the role of director, with self-proclaimed Naruto fan and former Marvel Studio CEO Avi Arad (Venom, Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse) producing the film via Arad Productions company. Arad is also teaming up with Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto (Super Mario Maker, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) to develop a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie.
Gracey mentioned in an interview that he wants to work closely with Naruto series creator Masashi Kishimoto on the project.
“So many Hollywood adaptations of really popular manga series just don’t get it right, and for me what was really important was that if I was gonna do Naruto, I wanted to actually work with [Naruto creator Masashi] Kishimoto and get a script to a stage where he would look at it and be excited about realizing it,” he said. “Because no one knows the world better than the person who created it.”
Kaylyn is usually geeking out over gacha games or the latest updates in a manga, and can talk all day about them. She’s also an avid collector, and really needs more space to store her game merchandise, utaite CDs and manga books.
