Anime’s increasing presence on the global stage ensures a steady stream of live-action adaptations continue to emerge from Hollywood’s pipeline. The process of translating Japan’s biggest anime and manga exports into a new medium has been helped along by the rapid rise of streaming, with these platforms providing the perfect arena for movies and cinematic TV shows based on IPs that already boast passionate and loyal fan bases.
Netflix has been particularly proactive in bringing anime properties to life, releasing the likes of Death Note and Cowboy Bebop, as well as Japanese-produced versions of Alice in Borderland, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Bleach. The platform’s biggest adaptation at present would undoubtedly be One Piece, which coexists alongside the live-action version of beloved not-technically-anime-but-very-close series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Curiously, one of the most eagerly anticipated live-action anime adaptations currently on the horizon blends together various elements of Netflix’s ‘big two.’
That adaptation is Lionsgate’s long-gestating Naruto movie. Written by Tasha Huo and with Destin Daniel Cretton lined up to direct, a live-action interpretation of Naruto has been in development for over a decade. Huo provided an update in late 2025, proving the project hasn’t been officially canceled, but also confirming that there remains no firm timeline on when Naruto Uzumaki might make his live-action debut, especially with Certton now a key creative force in the MCU.
Netflix’s One Piece Proves Naruto Can Succeed In Live-Action
Across the entire landscape of anime and manga, few franchises contain as many obstacles to a live-action adaptation as One Piece. From the abundance of Devil Fruit powers and fantastical setting to the tone veering wildly between deadly serious and unapologetically goofy, a live-action version of One Piece looked impossible.
And yet, Netflix’s One Piece currently stands as the only live-action anime adaptation to earn true widespread acclaim. With a 93% critics score and 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as a celebrated second season that proved its early success wasn’t a fluke, One Piece has silkily averted every single pitfall that typically arises during the perilous trip between anime and live-action.
That should come as a very encouraging sign for Destin Daniel Cretton ahead of his proposed Naruto movie. Pre-2023, attempting to ground Naruto within a semi-plausible live-action realm felt like an overly-ambitious goal destined to end in a Dragonball Evolution-style disaster. But if Luffy and the Straw Hats can do it, why not the future Seventh Hokage?
In terms of special powers and battles, Naruto is the franchise more suited to the live-action treatment. Shooting fireballs and high-intensity martial arts falls well within Hollywood’s capabilities, especially compared to Luffy’s rubber limbs, Wapol’s digestible soldiers, and Chopper the human reindeer.
Naruto’s setting of Konoha Village draws more directly from real history compared to the dreamlike locales of Little Garden and Reverse Mountain. A small town based on feudal Japan shouldn’t pose anywhere near as much trouble.
Most of all, Naruto needn’t worry about walking the thin tonal line Netlfix’s One Piece treads so delicately. Naruto may have its moments of levity, but reaches its limit long before killer clowns with removable limbs. Furthermore, Naruto himself is a more traditional hero compared to the so-laid-back-he’s-horizontal Monkey D. Luffy. It’s difficult to imagine anyone other than Iñaki Godoy playing One Piece‘s protagonist. By comparison, Lionsgate’s Naruto Uzumaki should be easier to cast.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Is A Warning Live-Action Naruto Must Heed
Despite One Piece making the live-action anime adaptation gig look surprisingly straightforward, its Netflix cousin shows why such endeavors are still hugely risky. The platform’s Avatar: The Last Airbender series is far from terrible, deserving better than being tossed into the same category as those Cowboy Bebop and Death Note adaptations. But with a 62% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 70% audience score, Aang falls some way behind his pirate rival.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender struggles to capture the original series’ strength of character and immense world-building. Bound by its medium, the Avatar: The Last Airbender remake moves at pace, forcing itself to cover the source material with a wide brush that lacks the required precision.
This is something Naruto can learn from. Like One Piece, the Destin Daniel Cretton movie must allow its characters to shine, and its story to progress in a natural way. One Piece bravely took the decision to leave the manga’s Alabasta arc until season 3 for this very reason, and Naruto would benefit from a similar approach, focusing on a manageable chunk of manga (ideally nothing beyond the fight against Zabuza) to prioritize deep characterization and full world-building.
Now Is The Right Time For Live-Action Naruto, But With A Twist
Many iconic anime and manga properties are important enough to their respective fandoms that the merest mention of a live-action adaptation is enough to send shivers down spines. The likes of Dragon Ball and Akira are sacred things that must be guarded from inferior, soulless imitations.
As brilliant and popular as Naruto is, it’s hardly a franchise that needs safeguarding. Whether it be the truck-load of filler toward the climax of the anime or the divisive sequel series starring Naruto’s son, this is an IP that has already been pushed, pulled, and twisted, so much so that even a subpar live-action adaptation would do little to dent its cultural relevance or the impact of Masashi Kishimoto’s original.
And in an era where even One Piece is rocking the live-action makeover, it feels like there will never be a better time to give Naruto Uzumaki the same treatment. Alas, that enthusiasm comes with a caveat.
Lionsgate is currently intent on turning Naruto into a movie franchise, but one wonders whether the streaming world might offer a more attractive option. The major platforms have developed leaps and bounds in the 11 years since Naruto‘s live-action movie was first announced, and splitting the manga into seasons of eight or ten episodes each would likely do justice to Naruto better than a 2-hour movie.
With an extra six hours to play with, a live-action Naruto TV show could truly delve into the intensity of its title character’s loneliness, the dark side of Sasuke Uchiha, and even the inner conflict of minor characters like Haku and Iruka. If that happened, Netflix’s One Piece might finally have some company atop the mountain of live-action anime adaptations.
- Release Date
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2002 – 2007-00-00
- Showrunner
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Masashi Kishimoto
- Directors
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Hayato Date
- Writers
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Masashi Kishimoto
