This MCU Movie Is Blocking Naruto’s Live-Action Debut — It Better Be Worth It
Naruto’s long-teased live-action is still stuck in limbo, with co-writer Tasha Huo saying there’s nothing new to share—dousing hopes that the Leaf Village will hit the big screen anytime soon.
Quick update on the long-teased Naruto movie: it is still not moving. And the latest word comes from someone who would know.
Where things stand
Tasha Huo, who co-wrote a draft of the live-action script, told ScreenRant she does not have anything new to share and is waiting just like the rest of us.
Huo says there are no fresh updates on Naruto right now, and she is in the same boat as fans.
She also pointed to one pretty obvious logjam: Destin Daniel Cretton, the director currently attached to Naruto, is tied up with Marvel. He is working on a Spider-Man movie reportedly titled 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' which is dated for July 2026. Huo did not flat-out say that is the reason Naruto is stalled, but the implication is hard to miss.
How we got here
- 2015: Lionsgate announces a live-action take on Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto.
- Early setup: Michael Gracey ('The Greatest Showman') is first attached to direct.
- Handoff: The project later moves to Destin Daniel Cretton.
- Script: Tasha Huo drafts a screenplay.
- Current status: After years of minimal updates, the movie is still stuck in pre-production.
- The holdup: Among other moving parts, Cretton's Marvel commitments include 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' in 2026.
- Open question: Even after Spider-Man, it is unclear if Cretton will jump straight to Naruto or slot in another project first.
Why fans are frustrated
On paper, the MCU and Spider-Man are bigger mainstream brands than Naruto. In practice, the noise around a Naruto live-action is arguably louder than the early chatter for 'Brand New Day.' Fans have been waiting since 2015, and in the vacuum they have been making their own proof-of-concept shots and videos, rallying petitions (nearly 20,000 signatures), and debating the adaptation every day across social feeds and group chats. With no meaningful studio update in ages, some are starting to assume this thing is permanently stuck.
The subtext here is not subtle: anime may be global and mainstream now, but in Hollywood scheduling hierarchies, it still gets bumped when a superhero call comes in. That is not shocking, but it is disappointing for a franchise as massive and generational as Naruto. If this movie happens, it deserves the kind of focus and respect that actually gets a camera rolling.
What happens next
There is no production start on the books, and no clarity on Cretton's timeline beyond Spider-Man. For now, Naruto remains in the waiting room labeled 'pre-production.'
If you want to revisit the original while we all sit tight, Naruto is streaming on Hulu.