"Don't Underestimate Me! I Don't Quit And I Don't Run! You Can Act Tough All You Want! You're Not Gonna Scare Me Off! No Way! I Don't Care If I Do Get Stuck As A Genin For The Rest Of My Life! I'll Still Be Hokage Someday"
It's been a long time since we had any updates on this one, but a live-action adaptation of one of the most inspirational manga/animes of all time, Naruto, is finally moving forward.
You'd be forgiven for assuming that plans for feature had fallen by the wayside - since it's been a full decade since it was first announced - but it sounds like Lionsgate has made some progress on the project.
According to Variety, screenwriter Tasha Huo has been enlisted to pen the latest draft of the script. The writer's other recent credits include the upcoming Red Sonja reboot and an animated series based on the Tomb Raider video games.
No other details were provided, but we have heard that Asian actors are being looked at for the main roles.
The original Naruto manga was created by Masashi Kishimoto, and was initially serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from September 1999 to November 2014. Part I of the manga was later adapted into an anime series by Pierrot and Aniplex, and ran for 220 episodes from October 2002 to February 2007. A second series, Naruto: Shippuden, ran on TV Tokyo for 500 episodes from February 2007 to March 2017.
The English dub of Shippuden aired on Disney XD in the United States from October 2009 to November 2011, before switching over to Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in January 2014. When Disney XD removed the series, Viz Media began streaming new English dubbed episodes on their streaming service Neon Alley.
The story follows the title character, Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village.
Naruto has maintained its position as one of the best-selling manga series of all time, with 250 million copies in circulation worldwide in 47 countries and regions, with 153 million copies in Japan alone and remaining 97 million copies elsewhere.
You can check out a more detailed plot summary (via IMDb) below.
"On the day of Naruto Uzamaki's birth the village of Konoha was attacked by the 9-tailed fox demon. In order to protect the village Naruto's father the 4th hokage sacrificed his life and sealed the demon in his new born son. 13 years later Naruto graduates the ninja academy and becomes a shinobi with goal to be the hokage of the village. Joining him are rival Sasuke Uchiha who attempts to gain power to avenge his clan after they were murdered by his older brother Itachi. And Sakura Haruno who is Naruto's love interest who of course loves his rival Sasuke. But when itachi returns to the village after the chunnin exams and Sasuke proves to be powerless against him. Sasuke will fall to the villainous Orochimaru to gain power. Naruto must do everything in his power to stop his friend from loosing himself to darkness even if it means losing himself."