This weekend, ‘Naruto’ creator Masashi Kishimoto made an appearance at the annual Jump Festa event. Kishimoto was on hand specifically to make a pair of major announcements regarding the future of the ‘Naruto’ franchise.
The first of these announcements was for ‘Boruto: Naruto Next Generations’. An anime adaptation of the ‘Naruto’ sequel manga of the same name, ‘Boruto’ follows the adventures of the eponymous character, the son of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga. The character has previously been featured on screen in the animated feature ‘Boruto: Naruto the Movie’. he has also been introduced to the ‘Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm’ video games through DLC. That DLC pack, dubbed ‘Road to Boruto’, is due to receive an American release in February 2017, shortly before the ‘Boruto’ anime debuts in the spring.
Kishimoto’s other announcement came in the form of confirmation that a live action adaptation of ‘Naruto’ is underway. The announcement also named Michael Gracey (best known for ‘The Greatest Showman’) as director. This comes in the wake of months of rumors about such a project, including reports that Lionsgate had acquired the live action film rights to the popular anime. There have also been similar reports that Avi Arad is attached as a producer, along with Geoff Shaveitz and Kelly O’Malley.
However, the most interesting thing about this announcement was not the confirmation of the film itself. After all, fans had expected for some time that this was coming, it just hadn’t been officially announced. No, what makes ‘Naruto’ stand out among Hollywood’s notably checkered history of anime adaptations is the announcement that Kishimoto himself will be involved with the production. Though the ‘Naruto’ creator’s exact role is somewhat unclear, it appears that he has been brought on board in an effort to help keep the film authentic with respect to the source material.
Are you looking forward to the ‘Boruto’ anime and the live action ‘Naruto’ movie? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on both projects as they develop!
