Tasha Huo has become one of the busiest creatives in genre entertainment.
She’s the showrunner behind Netflix’s Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and Amazon Prime Video’s The Mighty Nein, and she also co-wrote the script for Lionsgate’s upcoming live-action Naruto adaptation.
While promoting Amazon’s Legend of Vox Machina spin-off, Huo answered a few questions about the status of the long-gestating Naruto movie.
The project was originally announced back in 2015, but it didn’t gain real momentum until 2024, when Lionsgate revealed that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton had signed on to co-write and direct the film. A script was reportedly completed back in August 2024.
On the challenges of translating Naruto from manga/anime to live-action film, Huo remarked to Nexus Point News, "For Naruto, it was to ground it, to make it feel real and believable in the world of a live-action movie. When you watch it or read it, it's so bonkers. It's so good, but it is so bonkers."
"The rules you just sort of kind of take for granted because of the medium you're watching it in, but once you translate it to real people saying real lines and needing to convey real plot. Yeah, that was the challenge but also the joy of it because they're just so fun."
In a separate interview with ScreenRant, Huo admitted that cameras probably won't start rolling anytime soon on the project as Cretton is currently tied up with commitments to Marvel Studios.
Cretton executive-produced and directed a couple of episodes of the forthcoming Disney+ Wonder Man series and is currently filming the fourth Tom Holland Spidey film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. He's also set to direct a Shang-Chi sequel. Where a live-action Naruto movie would fit into this busy schedule is anyone's guess.
In a February 2024 press release, Adam Fogelson, Chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, stated, "This manga classic is beloved by millions of fans all around the world, and Destin has delivered a vision for the movie that we believe will excite that massive fan base as well as those who are new to it. Avi [Arad] and I have had the pleasure of working together before and I know that as we collaborate with Destin and the team on Naruto, we are in extraordinary hands."
“It was a true honor to meet Kishimoto-san in Tokyo and hear his expansive vision for his creation,” said Cretton in that same press release. “We are very excited to collaborate and bring Naruto to the big screen.”
Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto also stated, "When I heard of Destin’s attachment, it happened to be right after watching a blockbuster action film of his, and I thought he would be the perfect director for Naruto. After enjoying his other films and understanding that his forte is in creating solid dramas about people, I became convinced that there is no other director for Naruto."