Lionsgate Films is currently in negotiations to acquire the adaptation rights to Japanese anime “Naruto,” for a live action feature.
According to media reports the studio has signed on Michael Gracey to helm the project, he is known for his work as a visual effects artist and supervisor in some renowned feature films. Arad Productions is said to be taking care of the production. The company is owned by Avi Arad, who was the former Marvel boss under whom the “Spider-Man” movies were made. Overseeing for Lionsgate will be Erik Feig, Geoff Shaveitz and Kelly O’Malley.
Naruto is a Japanese anime series that was based on a manga series of the same title. The manga series sold over 200 million copies in print. The TV series started in 2002 and ran until 2007. It became very popular in Japan and had 220 episodes. It was eventually subtitled in English and was aired in North America, Australia and the UK from 2005 to 2012. A sequel to the first series called Naruto: Shippuden was aired starting 2007. Ten animated movies have been made based on the series.
It follows a young teen-aged ninja named Naruto Uzumaki, as he tries to gain recognition in order to become his village’s Hokage, the strongest ninja of all, who is recognised as the leader by the rest of the village. The series was created and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto.
