Published Jul 22, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.
Craig is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes.
For many years, live-action anime adaptations were very expensive punchlines. Dragonball Evolution remains the most infamous across movies and TV, but Western versions of Death Note, Ghost in the Shell, Cowboy Bebop, and others met similarly dour fates.
Then along came One Piece on Netflix, obliterating the live-action anime adaptation curse with a haki-infused fist of deep respect for Eiichiro Oda's source material and close-to-flawless execution. The casting is perfect, the locations are bold and vibrant, the pacing is intelligent, and the tone successfully blends live-action realism with the trademark One Piece humor that comes from watching a grown man fight an otter to the death.
By maintaining its quality into a second season, One Piece firmly established itself as the (pirate) king of live-action anime adaptations, even if the field wasn't especially competitive. With One Piece season 3 set to adapt to the hugely popular Alabasta arc, where Luffy faces his most dangerous enemy yet in Crocodile, the show's crown doesn't look likely to slip anytime soon.
And yet, an upcoming Hollywood adaptation of another 'Big Three' manga series seeks to do just that. First announced in 2015, the Naruto movie endured an extended stay in Development Hell after seemingly making very little progress and losing original director Michael Gracey. Even after Shang-Chi and Spider-Man: Brand New Day's Destin Daniel Cretton was installed as Gracey's replacement, Naruto's live-action movie remained ensnared by Hollywood's shadow paralysis jutsu.
Against all odds, however, the wheels are finally starting to turn. In a surprise announcement, creator Masashi Kishimoto has declared the official start of Naruto's casting process, marking the first real indication that the live-action movie is actually going to happen.
On Paper, Naruto Is Better Suited To Live-Action Than One Piece
There's a certain irony that, out of all the anime protagonists the West has rehoused into live-action, it was Monkey D. Luffy who finally struck gold. Death Note is essentially just Se7en with a demon. Cowboy Bebop is Firefly with a jazz soundtrack. But One Piece is a delightfully silly world of strange superpowers and islands made entirely out of cake. Eiichiro Oda's manga and anime series should have been the car crash, not its comparatively more realistic rivals.
Naruto sits somewhere in the middle, not particularly grounded, but still nowhere near as outright ludicrous as One Piece. Whereas One Piece's fictional universe of seafaring adventure is vast and varied, Naruto takes place within a five-nation continent based heavily upon real history. Similarly, Naruto's ninjas have powers and abilities that stay within touching distance of reality: fireballs, clones, blue energy balls, etc. All much easier to render in live-action than a protagonist who stretches, a human-reindeer hybrid, or a villain who eats inanimate objects.
On paper, at least, if Netflix can make One Piece work, Destin Daniel Cretton should be able to turn Naruto into a respectable live-action franchise using the same authentic philosophy.
LIve-Action Naruto Comes With A Big Catch That One Piece Did Not
One of the best things about watching Netflix's One Piece is how naturally the story unfolds. Each member of the Straw Hats gets their full introduction arc in season 1, then, rather than rushing straight toward the fight with Crocodile, season 2 takes its time dealing with the lower-ranking members of Baroque Works. Live-action One Piece leaves itself space for proper characterization, careful worldbuilding, and emotional weight. And through every episode, the viewer is left thinking, "I am so glad this wasn't a movie."
The harsh truth facing Destin Daniel Cretton is that, in order for the Naruto movie to be considered a success, it will need to deliver the same quality character development and meaty franchise lore as One Piece, but in a fraction of the time. It's not an exaggeration to suggest that Netflix's One Piece only works because it's a long-form TV series. The exact same team could have made a One Piece movie with exactly the same cast and exactly the same approach, and the end result wouldn't have been anywhere near as good.
Therein lies the biggest challenge Naruto faces on his way to live-action domination: not outrunning a decades-old curse, but the reality of turning such an expansive tale into a bite-sized, feature-length film.
English (US) ·