Lionsgate Begins Global Casting for Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura Roles
The casting launch ends a decade of quiet development and signals that the long-awaited live-action Naruto film is moving into active pre-production.
Key Facts
- Lionsgate and director Destin Daniel Cretton are producing the Hollywood live-action film adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto's manga Naruto.
- Global casting has begun for the roles of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno.
- Casting for other characters will be announced sequentially in the future.
- The live-action project was first announced in 2016.
- Masashi Kishimoto expressed hope for 'further miracles' and said he looks forward to meeting the cast.
Reporting from 3 sources: Denfaminicogamer, Cinema Today, Anime Anime.
Lionsgate has started a worldwide casting search for the main roles of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno in the Hollywood live-action film adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto's manga Naruto. The announcement was made on July 10, 2026, via the official Naruto website and social media. Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is attached to direct. Casting for additional characters will be announced sequentially. The project was first announced in 2016 but had remained in development with few public updates. Original creator Masashi Kishimoto released a statement expressing excitement, saying he hopes for "further miracles" and looks forward to "miraculous encounters with passionate and wonderful actors." The manga was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014 and has a massive global fanbase. Cretton also posted on his Instagram, calling it an honor to bring the world to the big screen for the first time as a live-action film.
Lionsgate and Destin Daniel Cretton are moving forward with the Hollywood live-action adaptation of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, beginning a worldwide search for the three leads of Team 7. The announcement was made on July 10, 2026, through the official Naruto website and social media channels. Cretton, known for directing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, posted on Instagram that he is "very happy to be able to express the wonderful world of NARUTO!"
Original creator Masashi Kishimoto released a full statement, calling the film's realization a string of miracles. He said: "Miracles are happening one after another for me right now. That my work 'NARUTO' is truly becoming a Hollywood movie! And an even greater miracle is that I get to have the film made by director Destin Daniel Cretton, I still can't believe it!" He added that he hopes for "further miracles" and looks forward to meeting the cast. The project was first announced in 2016, and this casting search is the first concrete production step since then. Casting for other characters will follow sequentially. The manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1999 to 2014 and has sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 3 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.