Lionsgate and Avi Arad's Naruto

[Lencho01]

This should be fun...

{TB EXCLUSIVE} “Naruto” Movie In The Works At Lionsgate With Michael Gracey Helming

Another beloved manga is about to find a new life on the silver screen, as sources confirm that Lionsgate is moving forward with an adaptation of the mega-popular NARUTO, with emerging helmer Michael Gracey in line to direct. The studio recently closed the rights to the Japanese series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, which follows Naruto Uzumaki, an adolescent ninja who dreams of one day becoming the Hokage, the village ninja who serves as protector and leader, considered strongest of them all. Prolific producer Avi Arad, a self-described fan of the series, will produce via his shingle Arad Productions, while Erik Feig, Geoff Shaveitz, and Kelly O’Malley will oversee for the studio.

With over 200 million copies in print, Naruto has become the third highest-selling manga in history, generating an avid fan-base worldwide. Though it originally started out as a manga, the property has since been adapted into an unbelievably popular anime series, which has aired on the likes of Cartoon Network, Hulu, and Disney XD in the U.S. The series spawned ten feature films, with an eleventh, Boruto: Naruto the Movie, set for release next month.

Though he initially began in visual effects/animation, Gracey has now moved to feature directing, with a slew of high-profile projects in his wheelhouse. He’s currently at work on a new adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches for Warner Bros., with Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo Del Toro producing. Gracey is also directing the Jim Henson biopic Muppet Man, Focus Features’ Elton John biopic Rocketman, and 20th Century Fox’s P.T. Barnum musical The Greatest Showman on Earth.

The development of the project doesn’t come entirely as a surprise, as popular manga series have proved tempting fodder in Hollywood. The Guest director Adam Wingard is currently working on the long-gestating Death Note adaptation for Warner Bros., while Scarlett Johansson’s Ghost in The Shell, which Arad is also producing, is moving forward at Paramount with Rupert Sanders directing.

However, it remains to be seen whether or not fans will accept Hollywood’s Naruto, as in the past popular manga series haven’t fared well after being churned out through the studio grinder. Take Fox’s Dragonball: Evolution for instance, which was met with universal disdain after it soullessly butchered its take on the immensely beloved Dragon Ball series. Fans can only hope that that grievous misfire will serve as a lesson for all adaptations to come.

Gracey is repped by CAA and Partizan.

 

[NotSoLongAgo]

Doomed right from the start with Avi attached

 

[TheVileOne]

Meh. It takes a lot to get a movie made.

Avi Arad has attached himself to a lot of properties lately that aren't getting done.

Remember Ghost in the Shell? All we heard is that Scarlett Johansson was offered the lead. Not a peep since. No release date.

 

[I Am The Knight]

The article states that Ghost in the Shell is moving forward with Johansson and Rupert Sanders directing...

 

[TheVileOne]

The article states that Ghost in the Shell is moving forward with Johansson and Rupert Sanders directing...

Once again, will believe it when I see it. Also remember this? This got put out there three years ago. Still no Bleach movie.

http://variety.com/2012/film/news/wb-developing-pic-of-manga-bleach-1118050608/

 

[Loki882]

I don't know how you'd make a Naruto movie work in live-action period, let alone with Avi involved.

 

[Lord]

I doubt this will ever see the light of day. Anyway, if they hipoteticaly were able to make it happen and it was successful, and if they hypotheticaly made a series of films with a finishing goal a la Harry Potter, they would most likely have to change the storylines a bit, because the plot got worse and worse.

Anyway, Hollywood should start with Mangas that fit Western sensibilities better, like Fullmetal Alchemist, Berserk, Attack on Titan, etc.

 

[Loki882]

Attack on Titan is actually one that would work well for Hollywood. They have the money/special-effects knowhow to make it work visually and there'd be no "Whitewashing" complaints. Not only does it have a very German/European-esque aesthetic, but Mikasa being the only Asian left in the city is actually a plot point.

Black Lagoon could work to. Especially if you have it to someone like Quentin Tarantino or John Woo. Or maybe Christopher McQuarrie.

 

[Gold Samurai]

Doomed right from the start with Avi attached

He'll work venom in there somehow.

Sounds like another "the last airbender" to me

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

Naruto!? Wow. Good luck guys.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

This could be fantastic, but I doubt they handle it in the correct way.

 

[sweetre15]

Not to toot my own horn, but I personally think that I could write it well. For instance, if they were to adapt the first arc that's based around the Zabuza storyline while taking out fillerish content then it could make a great film if they cast it right a well.

For years I've been developing ideas for a Naruto film but I'm not in the industry.

Basically tone down some of the over the top humor and keep the stuff that's actually critical to the story for a solid 2 hr film

 

[mad pigeon]

Avi Arad? I smell another DB Evolution cooking...

 

[X-Ray]

If done right it could be good. Forget Avi being attached to it. The director is a novice with only 4 films to his credit as director. That's concerning.

We'll see how far this goes. I'm still waiting for that production company that bought the film rights to Gungrave, over 3 years ago, to do something with it.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Not to toot my own horn, but I personally think that I could write it well. For instance, if they were to adapt the first arc that's based around the Zabuza storyline while taking out fillerish content then it could make a great film if they cast it right a well.

For years I've been developing ideas for a Naruto film but I'm not in the industry.

Basically tone down some of the over the top humor and keep the stuff that's actually critical to the story for a solid 2 hr film

I am a fan of the show, so when I watch it, I always think about how to adapt it to film. While I am a big fan of the Zabuza storyline, I have a hard time imagining them not do the exams in the first movie. It would work beautifully in a 2:10-2:20hr film.

I think you do the classic intro (Naruto the loner), the early training of Team Kakashi (but no major mission) and the first half of the Chunin exams ending it with Naruto going off to met Jiraiya. You establish the main characters, have team bonding and it allows for the main villain to not only make an appearance, but a real impact.

 

[Lord]

Not to toot my own horn, but I personally think that I could write it well. For instance, if they were to adapt the first arc that's based around the Zabuza storyline while taking out fillerish content then it could make a great film if they cast it right a well.

For years I've been developing ideas for a Naruto film but I'm not in the industry.

Basically tone down some of the over the top humor and keep the stuff that's actually critical to the story for a solid 2 hr film

Pretty much, i also always imagined Zabuza's arc working well for a closed 2 hours film, problem is that i'm not sure Hollywood's ready to adapt a manga story like that yet.

I think the first 30 minutes serving as an introduction to the main character and the team being assembled, and then the rest of the film dealing with the mission could work. Then film 2 could be the exams up until the training with Jiraya, while film 3 deals with the rest of the exams and the Konoha invasion, Film 4 could be finding the new Kage and the Sasuke retrieval arc. The Akatsuki's first appearance could be pushed to film 3 in order to make their presence in the story sooner.

Problem is, how would Part II(Shippuden) be done? It took a drop in quality and then when Tobi was revealed, the plot took a noosedive it would never recover from, getting worse and worse until the final villain was just someone Kishimoto came up with less than a year before it finished.

I am a fan of the show, so when I watch it, I always think about how to adapt it to film. While I am a big fan of the Zabuza storyline, I have a hard time imagining them not do the exams in the first movie. It would work beautifully in a 2:10-2:20hr film.

I think you do the classic intro (Naruto the loner), the early training of Team Kakashi (but no major mission) and the first half of the Chunin exams ending it with Naruto going off to met Jiraiya. You establish the main characters, have team bonding and it allows for the main villain to not only make an appearance, but a real impact.

Thing with Zabuza is that you could make a one-shot story, while with the Chunin exams you would have a film with many major unresolved plots, not to mention that it would give the impression that Orochimaru's the "voldemort" of the series, when he's replaced soon after.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Thing with Zabuza is that you could make a one-shot story, while with the Chunin exams you would have a film with many major unresolved plots, not to mention that it would give the impression that Orochimaru's the "voldemort" of the series, when he's replaced soon after.

"Soon" after? Orochimaru is the villain of Part 1 and relevant beyond that.

And what unresolved plots would there be? Yeah, you end it on a bit of cliffhanger, but you also streamline it and allow for clear resolution. You set it up like Harry Potter, Star Wars or even LotR. A straight adaptation would not be the way to go, as it does not serve the film medium.

And while Zabuza could be self-contained, it isn't relevant to the overall arc, and any character work from it can be attained during the exams. IT makes no practical or story sense to make a Zabuza film. It is too little story.

 

[sweetre15]

I've listened to interviews about how Hollywood tends to mess up a lot of adaptations and apparently one of the main mistakes they make is that they do really even try to do a faithful adaptation half the time. They take an existing script with a similar genre, change the names of the characters and some minor details and call it the name of said IP so they don't have to work as hard.

Hopefully such a thing isn't tried with adaptations like Naruto because if done right Naruto could be a great franchise that combines elements of Ninja and Superhero film to throw something a little new to the Summer Blockbuster rotation.

 

[sweetre15]

"Soon" after? Orochimaru is the villain of Part 1 and relevant beyond that.

And what unresolved plots would there be? Yeah, you end it on a bit of cliffhanger, but you also streamline it and allow for clear resolution. You set it up like Harry Potter, Star Wars or even LotR. A straight adaptation would not be the way to go, as it does not serve the film medium.

And while Zabuza could be self-contained, it isn't relevant to the overall arc, and any character work from it can be attained during the exams. IT makes no practical or story sense to make a Zabuza film. It is too little story.

If you start off with the Zabuza story, you give casuals and the uniniated something easy to follow as you develop Naruto/Sasuke/Sakara's dynamics between each other, Iruka sensei/Naruto's relationship, Kakashi's relationships with the students while building the dynamic between Zabuza/Haku etc etc

It doesn't leave things unanswered,
Because it's best to pretend that a sequel isn't guaranteed so when the film flops viewers won't be left hanging.

Overall to me, it's just a better story than the Chunin exam saga but that's just me

 

[TheVileOne]

Naruto is unfilmable in live-action. That simple.

 

[Loki882]

I fear another The Last Airbender (another project that I was immediately skeptical of them doing in live-action) fiasco. And if anything, Naruto would be HARDER to do well.

 

[Lord]

"Soon" after? Orochimaru is the villain of Part 1 and relevant beyond that.

He's the main villain of Part I, i agree, but in Part II, the main villains were the Akatsuki group (though at the end it was shown that Kaguya was the main villain of all the story), thing with Orochimaru is that he's pretty much dumped in the beginning of Part II, he later returned to play a smaller role, but that return was kinda pointless, the part where he says he's "good" now was headscratching. Orochimaru is relevant to many things, but by the end of the story, he's not exaclt the main villain, even if the studio wanted to change the main villain in order to not get stuck with Kaguya, i'm not sure he would be the best choice for final villain.

And what unresolved plots would there be? Yeah, you end it on a bit of cliffhanger, but you also streamline it and allow for clear resolution. You set it up like Harry Potter, Star Wars or even LotR. A straight adaptation would not be the way to go, as it does not serve the film medium.

It's more due to the fact that Orochimaru's still alive and the film ends with the down note of the Hokage's death. With Zabuza you have an introduction to the ninja system, how this world works, and above all, Naurto and Sasuke bonding, with the public seeing them willing to sacriice for one another. The Zabuza arc was also one of the best, i'll say that Chunnin exams were also one of the best parts in Naruto (even though they were taken directly from the Hunter exams in Hunter X Hunter), but Zabuza's still realy close. Part I has many great stories, i don't think they should change much, Part II's where they would need to work more in order to know what's necessary and what's not.

Zabuza arc also shows how dangerous the ninja world can be, and considering this will be Hollywood's first try with Naruto, i think they need to go with something more streamlined like this, it's easier to adapt and it can get people excited for more. If you want to add some easter eggs to the future in the film series, and you gave Pain the role Tobi ended up having in the main story, you could have some visions of the Rinnegan symbol when Naruto sees the nine tails.

And while Zabuza could be self-contained, it isn't relevant to the overall arc, and any character work from it can be attained during the exams. IT makes no practical or story sense to make a Zabuza film. It is too little story.

I disagree, Zabuza has a clear beginning, middle and end, while Chunnin doesn't, it's a series of events that end in a large build-up for the future of the story. I also think Chunnin has too many important events to work in a single story that also has to introduce the characters. Zabuza lets the focus go to just Team 7, as they bond and see how the ninja world realy works, while the chunning exams are where the world starts to realy expand, with a much larger set of characters.

I think the best route would be to treat Part I like Harry Potter, as you take the plot and try to be as true to the story as possible, while still changing what's needed, then with Part II they would have to take the arcs and ideas, but try to do something with more focus. Things i would definitely point at as needing changes are the Akatsuki actualy having a clear goal from the begining, the only uchihas left being Itachi and Sasuke, Itachi not being Jesus, Kaguya not being the main villain, Pain being the final villain and Tobi not being Obito.

I would say that each Part would need aroud 3-4 films, which would lead to a series of 6-8 films, would that be too much? A bit, but that's what you get when you adapt such a large series.

 

[Lord]

I fear another The Last Airbender (another project that I was immediately skeptical of them doing in live-action) fiasco. And if anything, Naruto would be HARDER to do well.

Agreed, but what angers me the most is how much potential there is, Last airbender would have been easier to adapt, and if done right, it could have been absolutely amazing.

I've listened to interviews about how Hollywood tends to mess up a lot of adaptations and apparently one of the main mistakes they make is that they do really even try to do a faithful adaptation half the time. They take an existing script with a similar genre, change the names of the characters and some minor details and call it the name of said IP so they don't have to work as hard.

Hopefully such a thing isn't tried with adaptations like Naruto because if done right Naruto could be a great franchise that combines elements of Ninja and Superhero film to throw something a little new to the Summer Blockbuster rotation.

That's the thing with Mangas, you have a variety of stories that would be vastly different to what present blockbusters offer, the shounen stuff pretty much gives the same type of ideas we see in young adult novel adaptations, but with much more originality. Problems is that Hollywood realy doesnn't try making an effort at seeing what works and adapting the "soul" of material.

Took them a while with American comic books too.

If you start off with the Zabuza story, you give casuals and the uniniated something easy to follow as you develop Naruto/Sasuke/Sakara's dynamics between each other, Iruka sensei/Naruto's relationship, Kakashi's relationships with the students while building the dynamic between Zabuza/Haku etc etc

It doesn't leave things unanswered,
Because it's best to pretend that a sequel isn't guaranteed so when the film flops viewers won't be left hanging.

Overall to me, it's just a better story than the Chunin exam saga but that's just me

Exatly, though i would put Zabuza and Chunin exams alongside as some of the best storyarcs in Naruto, the other arcs strugle to come near these 2.

 

[Loki882]

I really liked Pain/Invasion of Konaha Arc myself (and it has an absolutely perfect ending scene). Unfortunately, things never quite reach that level ever again after that.

Oh and building up Madara for so long as the main villain and then offing him in favor of Kaguy (boy did she NOT work as a big bad) was a TERRIBLE idea.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

He's the main villain of Part I, i agree, but in Part II, the main villains were the Akatsuki group (though at the end it was shown that Kaguya was the main villain of all the story), thing with Orochimaru is that he's pretty much dumped in the beginning of Part II, he later returned to play a smaller role, but that return was kinda pointless, the part where he says he's "good" now was headscratching. Orochimaru is relevant to many things, but by the end of the story, he's not exaclt the main villain, even if the studio wanted to change the main villain in order to not get stuck with Kaguya, i'm not sure he would be the best choice for final villain.

Part I would could 2 or 3 films. Orchimaru as the main villain for that arc of films makes perfect sense.

It's more due to the fact that Orochimaru's still alive and the film ends with the down note of the Hokage's death. With Zabuza you have an introduction to the ninja system, how this world works, and above all, Naurto and Sasuke bonding, with the public seeing them willing to sacriice for one another. The Zabuza arc was also one of the best, i'll say that Chunnin exams were also one of the best parts in Naruto (even though they were taken directly from the Hunter exams in Hunter X Hunter), but Zabuza's still realy close. Part I has many great stories, i don't think they should change much, Part II's where they would need to work more in order to know what's necessary and what's not.

Zabuza arc also shows how dangerous the ninja world can be, and considering this will be Hollywood's first try with Naruto, i think they need to go with something more streamlined like this, it's easier to adapt and it can get people excited for more. If you want to add some easter eggs to the future in the film series, and you gave Pain the role Tobi ended up having in the main story, you could have some visions of the Rinnegan symbol when Naruto sees the nine tails.

That isn't where I would end it. I would end it with Team Kakashi going their separate ways to prepare for the final part of the exams. The Hokage wouldn't have died yet. You can have all that bonding in the exams. In fact, the do. Surviving the forest is a deal and half. It brings them closer, shows the dangers of the ninja world even more and always for interaction with their fellow ninjas.

You can't make a big film series like this, and avoid the arc. It just doesn't work imo. It is like starting Star Wars without Vader, LotR without Sauron or Harry Potter without Voldemort.

I disagree, Zabuza has a clear beginning, middle and end, while Chunnin doesn't, it's a series of events that end in a large build-up for the future of the story. I also think Chunnin has too many important events to work in a single story that also has to introduce the characters. Zabuza lets the focus go to just Team 7, as they bond and see how the ninja world realy works, while the chunning exams are where the world starts to realy expand, with a much larger set of characters.

The exams have stages. It is clear when Naruto leaves to train that that is the "end" of the first part.

An hour is plenty of time to establish the world, the main characters and handle their "training" before the exams. Then an hour plus dedicated to them? Plenty of of time. You do not adapt word for word, and I wouldn't do that with Naruto if I could.

I think the best route would be to treat Part I like Harry Potter, as you take the plot and try to be as true to the story as possible, while still changing what's needed, then with Part II they would have to take the arcs and ideas, but try to do something with more focus. Things i would definitely point at as needing changes are the Akatsuki actualy having a clear goal from the begining, the only uchihas left being Itachi and Sasuke, Itachi not being Jesus, Kaguya not being the main villain, Pain being the final villain and Tobi not being Obito.

If you handle it like Harry Potter, then I am on the right track. They streamlined the heck out of it. Zabuza is a subplot, and doesn't require screentime.

I would say that each Part would need aroud 3-4 films, which would lead to a series of 6-8 films, would that be too much? A bit, but that's what you get when you adapt such a large series.

Naruto would be a five, maybe six film series. You don't need to adapt everything. A lot of Naruto is repetitive from a storyline perspective. You need to concentrate on what is important.