Charles Melton in Talks to Play Kakashi in Naruto — SkimNews
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- Charles Melton is in close talks to play Kakashi Hatake in Destin Daniel Cretton's upcoming live-action "Naruto" movie for Lionsgate, per Variety.
- The global "Naruto" casting search began last month to find live-action versions of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, and Melton's potential casting comes amid speculation he'd be announced for the "X-Men" cast at last week's D23 convention.
- Melton was recently Emmy-nominated for Netflix's "Beef" Season 2 and previously earned critical acclaim for Todd Haynes' "May December" (2023); he is known for "Riverdale," "Warfare," and "Her Private Hell."
- Destin Daniel Cretton is directing "Naruto" fresh off "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which grossed over $800 million domestically — the fastest film ever to reach that milestone.
- Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Emmy Yu will produce "Naruto" for Arad Productions alongside Jeremy Latcham, with Cretton producing with Jeyun Munford through his company Hisako.
- A 2014 attempt to launch a "Naruto" movie previously had Michael Gracey attached as director before that effort stalled.
Why it matters: Cretton comes off the fastest film ever to $800 million domestic — "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" — and now steers one of the most-anticipated anime-to-live-action adaptations. Pairing that proven box-office track record with a recent Emmy nominee in the fan-favorite Kakashi role pulls prestige credibility into a project Lionsgate is clearly treating as a tentpole.
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