The Hollywood live-action film adaptation of the legendary manga franchise Naruto, which recorded a mega-hit worldwide, has finally come into full orbit.
Lionsgate, a major Hollywood studio, under the direction of Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed Spider-Man: Brand New Day, has officially begun a global casting audition worldwide to find the leads to play the three young ninjas of the core Team 7 — Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura — and other major character castings will be conducted sequentially later.
Director Cretton officially announced the start of casting on social media, saying the story by Masashi Kishimoto has inspired generations of fans around the world and that he is honored to bring the author's world and characters to the screen in live action. He added he is very pleased to begin this global casting audition to find Team 7 and hopes to realize Naruto's amazing world on screen as a vivid, lifelike reality.
Masashi Kishimoto, the original author, also expressed his deep emotion and raised expectations. He said, "Miraculous things keep happening to me. My work Naruto is really, truly becoming a Hollywood movie!" and could not hide his joy. He added, "An even greater miracle is that this film will be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. I eagerly look forward to miraculous encounters with special, passionate actors and I will count the days until I meet the characters in the film."
Carmen Cuba Casting, which led standout youth ensemble casting on projects such as Netflix's Stranger Things, will oversee the North American casting for this major project. With global casting proceeding simultaneously in countries around the world, Sukim Company will have full responsibility for Korea's local casting, drawing industry attention.
Sukim Company is a specialized firm that has successfully led casting for numerous large global projects such as Pachinko, XO, Kitty, K-pop Demon Hunters and Angry People 2, serving as a springboard for Korean actors' overseas advancement. In this project, it plans to use its accumulated know-how to discover new raw talents that will captivate the world.
Meanwhile, the current auditions for the leads of Team 7 (Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura) are open to applicants aged 16 to 20. They are broadly seeking actors with fluent English and solid physical (action) acting potential. Global film fans are focused on which newcomer will be chosen as the lead of the Hollywood version of Naruto and rise as a Cinderella story.
[Photo] Masashi Kishimoto, Scott/SHUEISHA
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