Sony and Lionsgate join forces on long-gestating live-action 'Naruto'

Sony Pictures and Lionsgate said Tuesday that they will jointly develop and distribute a live-action adaptation of "Naruto," the bestselling ninja manga by Masashi Kishimoto, ending a competitive bidding process that had drawn interest from multiple major studios. Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed this year's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," will write, direct and produce the film with co-writer Tasha Huo.

Under the arrangement, reported by TheWrap and ComicBook.com, Lionsgate will oversee development and production and release the film domestically, while Sony will co-finance the project and handle international distribution. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson and Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman and chief executive Tom Rothman issued statements alongside the announcement; Michael Meyer negotiated the agreement for Lionsgate, with Erin Westerman and James Myers overseeing the project for the studio.

A franchise with scale, a director with momentum

The numbers behind the deal explain why two studios split it rather than one taking it alone. Kishimoto's manga has sold more than 250 million copies worldwide since its 1999 debut, and the anime series adapted from it has aired in more than 145 countries and territories. Cretton, meanwhile, arrives fresh off box-office success: "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" has grossed $2,519,622,766 worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo's tracking data, with roughly 38 percent of that total coming from domestic theaters. Cretton has also signed a three-year overall deal with Sony, according to ComicBook.com's reporting, tying him more closely to the studio beyond this single project.

Production on "Naruto" is expected to begin in spring 2027, with a worldwide casting search already underway for the roles of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. If filming proceeds on that timeline, the film could reach theaters in 2028, though neither studio has confirmed a release date.

Kishimoto's manga ran for 15 years in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump, from September 1999 to November 2014, spanning 72 collected volumes translated into English by VIZ Media, which counts it among its best-selling series. The anime adaptation, produced by Studio Pierrot, aired on TV Tokyo across two runs: an original 220-episode series from 2002 to 2007, followed by the sequel "Naruto: Shippuden," which ran roughly 500 episodes until 2017. A continuation, "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations," has carried the franchise forward in Weekly Shōnen Jump and, since 2019, in the monthly V Jump magazine.

Lionsgate's dealmaking moment

The "Naruto" agreement lands amid a run of partnership activity at Lionsgate. Just over a week earlier, the studio announced a joint venture with producer Steven Paul's SP Media, in which SP Media is making a capital investment to help fund new ventures across Lionsgate's businesses while Lionsgate retains majority control. Chief executive Jon Feltheimer described Paul in that release as "a savvy and experienced entrepreneur" whose investment should "fuel growth" across the studio's operations. Co-financing arrangements of this kind have become more central to how Lionsgate spreads the cost and risk of its biggest bets, rather than fully financing tentpole projects alone.

The studio's motion picture segment generated $587.3 million in revenue against $776.6 million in total company revenue for its first fiscal quarter of 2027, covering the three months ended June 30, 2026, according to Lionsgate's own quarterly earnings release. A manga-to-screen adaptation with a built-in global fan base, financed jointly with a studio the size of Sony, fits a pattern of risk-sharing the company has leaned on as it rebuilds its film slate following its 2024 separation from the Starz premium cable business.

Who stands to gain, and who is watching

The clearest winners are the two studios themselves, which split financing exposure on a project expected to carry a significant budget given its source material's scale and the visual-effects demands of adapting a fantasy ninja world for live action. Sony gains an international distribution asset tied to one of anime's most recognizable titles outside the United States, particularly across Asia, where the manga and anime originated and remain popular. Lionsgate gains a high-profile studio project to anchor its production slate alongside its distribution business.

Actors competing for the lead roles, and the broader pool of performers whose names have circulated in casting speculation, are also directly affected, as is the fan community that has followed the project's development with scrutiny since Cretton was first linked to it. Hollywood's wider live-action anime efforts carry a mixed track record that this project will be measured against: 2009's "Dragonball Evolution" and 2017's "Ghost in the Shell" both underperformed critically and commercially, while Netflix's live-action "Cowboy Bebop" was cancelled after a single season. Studios have continued pursuing such adaptations regardless, drawn by the built-in global audiences these franchises carry.

Reaction and the production road ahead

In a message shared with fans at New York Comic Con in October, before the deal was finalized, Cretton signaled the approach he intends to take with the material.

"We're approaching the world, relationships, and journeys Kishimoto-sensei created with a lot of care."

Both studios framed the agreement in their own statements as a validation of the property's global reach, though the companies did not disclose financial terms, including the film's budget or the specific split of costs between the two partners.

Lionsgate is scheduled to hold its next earnings call after market close on Thursday, November 5, according to a company announcement of that call, where analysts are likely to press executives on how the "Naruto" co-financing structure affects the studio's production spending and risk profile going forward. For now, both companies have pointed to the spring production start as the next concrete milestone, with casting announcements expected in the coming months as the worldwide search for lead roles continues.