‘Naruto’ live-action film gains momentum with Tasha Huo as writer

MANILA, Philippines – In an eagerly awaited development for Naruto fans, Lionsgate’s live-action adaptation of the iconic anime series is finally seeing movement with the appointment of Tasha Huo as writer.

Huo is best known for her work on The Witcher: Blood Origin (2022). She’s also attached to two works set to be released by 2024 – Red Sonja and the animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.

As reported by Variety, Huo shared her excitement about working on the project, saying it was a fan’s dream come true to work on adaptations like Naruto.

“Adapting iconic characters or IP makes the writing of it easier because the passion for writing it is already there,” expressed Huo. “I’m so inspired by these characters already that it’s exciting to just take a part of their journey and try to tell that fun story in a way that would appeal to me as a fan.” 

The announcement of Huo’s involvement in the project comes after almost a decade of anticipation since the adaptation was first reported in 2015. At the time, Michael Gracey was announced as the project’s director.

The previous report also said that the production team is set to include industry veterans such as Avi Arad (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Uncharted) and his son Ari Arad through Arad Productions. Erik Feig, Geoff Shaveitz, and Kelly O’Malley will also oversee from the Lionsgate studio. 

The last updates about the film were from 2018, with director Gracey stating that they were still working on the script for the film, where they expressed their desire to stay faithful to the original source material. 

Other key details, such as the cast members, plot, and release date, remain undisclosed.

Naruto tells the story of a young ninja who dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. The original manga series Naruto was first published in 1997 and was written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. The series went on to become one of the best-selling manga series in history, selling more than 200 million copies worldwide. 

It was also the reference for two anime series – Naruto (2002-2007) and Naruto: Shippuden (2007-2017). Besides the anime series, Studio Pierrot has also developed 11 animated films and 12 original video animations based on the story. – with additional reports from Dana Villano/Rappler.com

Dana Villano is a Rappler intern.