Charles Melton Circling Naruto Live-Action Movie From Spider-Man: Brand New Day Director

Charles Melton is reportedly vying to play Kakashi Hatake in Destin Daniel Cretton’s upcoming live-action Naruto movie. Written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, the manga chronicles the story of Naruto, a young boy who seeks recognition and dreams of emerging the greatest ninja. His efforts to come into his own are complicated by the fact that he unknowingly serves as the host of a dangerous beast that grants him enormous power but makes him a suitable aim for rival ninja clans. Kakashi recurs as a major character across all 700 chapters of Naruto. A mysterious character radiating infinite coolness, he's the elite ninja mentor to young wannabe Hokage Naruto and his friends.

There are concerns, though, that Naruto is more amenable to a TV series given its epic scope. A movie might work against success.

Naruto Live-Action Movie Is Coming

Cretton is basking in the record-smashing success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has hit the rare two-billion-dollar milestone. The global Naruto casting search kicked off last month to scour and discover the live-action versions of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Mangaka Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, elaborated on the project on the official Naruto website, who excitedly admitted he “cannot believe” his manga was being adapted into a major Hollywood film.

Melton earned a recent Emmy nod for his role in Netflix’s Beef Season 2 alongside Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Cailee Spaeny. He received critical acclaim for his work in Todd Haynes’ May December, which released in 2023. His highly praised performance was poised for an Oscar nomination, which unfortunately didn't come through. Recently he also appeared in Her Private Hell and Warfare. His breakout role came in Netflix's Riverdale. Melton's name was rumoured to come up in the casting announcement for the new X-Men movie, which didn't eventually transpire.

Cretton has a sequel to Shang-Chi in development.