'Naruto' Live-Action Shouldn’t Adapt the Entire Story, Director Suggests

In an interview with Inverse, Destin Daniel Cretton spoke about the live-action Naruto, and how he wants to take a more restrained approach to the adaptation, focusing on Team 7’s early adventures.

“I’m a big fan of the work and of Kishimoto-san [the series’ creator],” Cretton tells Inverse. "I'll say that we are staying very close to what Kishimoto-san created", he said, noting that "the biggest mistake we could make would be trying to cram too much into a single movie". 

The director doesn’t directly mention which arcs he would like to adapt, but it’s very likely that the adaptation could go as far as the Land of Waves arc, where Team 7 faces its first major challenge: Zabuza Momochi and Haku.

However, nothing also rules out the possibility of the adaptation going as far as the beginning of the Chunin Exam arc, with Orochimaru’s first appearance in the story. At the moment, there’s no way to know for sure how far Cretton wants to adapt Masashi Kishimoto’s work.

It’s worth remembering that production recently began, and the movie is searching worldwide for actors to play the ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village.