After Spider-Man: Brand New Day turned Destin Daniel Cretton into one of Hollywood’s hottest directors, his next mission is already waiting. The filmmaker is now steering the long-awaited live-action Naruto movie, with production targeting the first half of 2027. From swinging through the MCU’s biggest new chapter to bringing one of anime’s most iconic worlds to live action, Cretton’s career just took another wild turn.

While Spider-Man may have just given Cretton his biggest launchpad yet, the director isn’t sticking around in the MCU’s web for long.

Destin Daniel Cretton’s Naruto adaptation is aiming to enter production in the first half of 2027, putting the project firmly back in motion after years of development, as revealed in The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision. The director has been attached to the Lionsgate adaptation since before taking the reins of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the studio now finds itself handing the project to a filmmaker arriving fresh off one of the biggest box-office moments of his career.

The timing is especially notable because Cretton’s Marvel schedule has suddenly shifted. While Brand New Day is dominating theaters, his Wonder Man project was scrapped, while Marvel’s wider slate continues moving toward Avengers: Doomsday, Ghost Rider, and the upcoming X-Men reboot. For Cretton, though, the next set is expected to be filled with ninjas, chakra, and the Hidden Leaf Village, as Heat Vision reported, rather than another Marvel superhero.

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And if Cretton’s Marvel victory proved he can handle a blockbuster-sized universe, Naruto will give him a completely different monster to tame.

Daniel Cretton is not entering the Naruto movie cold. His involvement with the Lionsgate adaptation predates his work on Brand New Day, and his latest Spider-Man success has now given the project a director with fresh blockbuster momentum. Brand New Day has reportedly crossed $500 million domestically faster than Avengers: Endgame and is coming off the biggest week in domestic box-office history, making Cretton’s move to Naruto arrive at a particularly interesting moment.

The live-action movie will adapt Masashi Kishimoto’s beloved manga, although major details about its plot, cast, and release date remain under wraps. For now, the clearest piece of the puzzle is the production target. And considering how much material Naruto has accumulated across its manga and anime history, the real question may not be whether Cretton can make the movie feel epic, but how much of Naruto Uzumaki’s enormous journey can fit onto one screen.

With the live-action Naruto movie targeting production in the first half of 2027, the long-awaited adaptation is finally inching closer to becoming a reality. 

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Can Destin Daniel Cretton turn Naruto into the live-action anime hit fans have been waiting for, or is this ninja mission about to get dangerously complicated? Let us know in the comments.