Live-Action Naruto Film Adaptation Announced by Lionsgate
The insanely popular Naruto franchise continues to live on following its 15-year run as a manga. While video games and film sequels like Boruto: Naruto the Movie are set to come out (at the very least), but the franchise will be approaching new territories soon, as Lionsgate has announced a live-action film adaptation of everybody's favorite Hidden Leaf Ninja.
For those unfamiliar, Naruto is the story about an orphan growing up in a village full of ninjas. Overlooked and made fun of because of his lack of talents (and parents), Naruto trains and perseveres on his way to becoming the world's best ninja. In terms of popularity, it's typically been ranked towards the top of shounen ("for boys") anime alongside such series like Dragon Ball Z and One Piece.
Michael Gracey, who has done some VFX work on some upcoming films, will be making his directorial debut on the film. I'm guessing he was primarily chosen due to his visual effects work, as a film like Naruto would need a very dedicated and strong VFX team. However, despite Lionsgate's successes with adaptations like The Hunger Games and Divergent, it's hard for an American studio to successfully adapt anime into a live-action film. However, if the studio can pull off both Power Rangers and Naruto, Lionsgate could become the de facto studio for modern film adaptations.
As always, we'll have more on the Naruto film adaptation when developments arise.
[via /Film]
Watch the English-Subbed Trailer for Boruto: Naruto the Movie
[youtube id="PGiyDw3dOSs"]
Even though the Naruto manga came to a conclusion this past spring and the anime is still several chapters away from reaching its end, the Naruto franchise is still thriving with an assortment of video game, movie, and manga releases coming out in the near future. As you can see, series creator Masashi Kishimoto isn't going the Dragon Ball route of making fans wait to see more of their favorite shinobi.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie continues where The Last: Naruto the Movie leaves off by focusing on the new generation of Leaf ninja, specifically Naruto's son, Boruto, and Sasuke's daughter, Sarada. The film takes place years after the end of Naruto and is being tied into the Start of a New Era Project to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Naruto franchise. As seen in the trailer, the plot will focus on Boruto's training with Sasuke in his attempts to surpass his father's legacy.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie will be in Japanese theaters on August 7th, and while there's no current information on an American release date, I think it's safe to assume it'll be dubbed and released before too long.