Overview
- Trade outlets reported Thursday that Charles Melton is in final negotiations to play Kakashi Hatake for Destin Daniel Cretton’s live-action Naruto, though Lionsgate has not confirmed the casting.
- Lionsgate has launched a worldwide search for the younger Team 7 roles of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, and casting for those leads is continuing while Kakashi would be the first high-profile attachment.
- Creator Masashi Kishimoto is reported to be collaborating with Cretton, and producers named on the project include Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Emmy Yu, Jeremy Latcham and Cretton’s company Hisako.
- Reports note Melton’s recent Emmy nod for Beef and his martial-arts background as factors in his fit for an action-heavy mentor role, and his potential involvement has been discussed alongside earlier X‑Men casting rumors that could affect scheduling.
- The project traces back to earlier attempts to adapt Naruto and has long faced adaptation scrutiny, so this casting development is an early test of the filmmakers’ plan to balance franchise fidelity with a global live‑action production.