What's going on with the live-action Naruto movie? We've heard nothing about it since its director was confirmed and its script was said to be done. You'd think that the writer of that script, The Mighty Nein showrunner Tasha Huo, would have an update, but alas, it sounds like she's waiting to find out more just like the rest of us.

In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Huo explained that she had “no new updates” on the progress of producing the film and that “I wish I did” have more news on that front. That said, she was still positive and said, alongside the fans, “I also can’t wait to see” what the adaptation has in store.

Huo, who is the showrunner for Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, mainly cited Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Marvel schedule as the biggest issue here, but there’s no further updates on the status of the project as a result.

In 2024, Huo completed her latest draft of the script for the film, around the same time The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey left the project to make way for Cretton.

Cretton is attached to a Shang-Chi sequel, and he cocreated and executive produced the upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man. At the moment, he’s shooting Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is set to be released in July 2026.

As of last year, the live-action Naruto movie was set to tell a “nuanced and special” story about the Hidden Leaf Village’s yellow-haired ninja in training. At the time, having handed the completed script to Cretton, Huo expressed confidence in the director, saying that his “very personal and relatable” style was one element of his films she enjoys.

Huo added that she felt Cretton would take Naruto’s story in a direction that avoids the franchise’s already large world.

“I think that’s such a cool choice because he’s going to be able to capture how nuanced and special Naruto is without getting distracted by the big world that it is, which I think could easily be done by someone who’s not a fan or someone who’s coming in for a cash payday," she said. "This is definitely a movie that comes at it from a love of who Naruto is and that character and his relationships."

Naruto had humble beginnings, starting as a manga series by Masashi Kishimoto in 1999. Its popularity has ballooned since then, as the series has gone on to not only receive its anime adaptation of the same name but sequel shows like Naruto: Shippuden and Baruto, too. It’s also spawned a number of video games such as the Ultimate Ninja Storm series.

The franchise is considered one of the Big Three in the world of anime, meaning expectations for a film adaptation were high the moment it got off the ground. Kishimoto did at least give his blessing to see the Shang-Chi director bring Naruto to the big screen, going as far as to release a statement on the matter when the filmmaker’s involvement was revealed.

“When I heard of Destin’s attachment, it happened to be right after watching a blockbuster action film of his, and I thought he would be the perfect director for Naruto,” Kishimoto said at the time. “After enjoying his other films and understanding that his forte is in creating solid dramas about people, I became convinced that there is no other director for Naruto. In actually meeting Destin, I also found him to be an open-minded director who was willing to embrace my input, and felt strongly that we would be able to cooperate together in the production process. To put it simply, the live-action Naruto is bound to be a film with spectacular action and profound drama. I can’t help but be excited for it.”

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.