This Naruto Live-Action Movie Fancast Is Too Perfect Not To Happen

Summary Fan-casting for the Naruto live-action movie aims to connect audience wishes with potential actors for the film's success.

Hiroyuki Sanada's resemblance to the powerful Third Hokage makes him an obvious choice for the upcoming live-action adaptation.

The Naruto movie must prioritize casting to ensure the essence of the characters is captured accurately for the film's success.

Naruto is a top-rated and iconic anime series. It is well-known for several of its traits. From the series characters to every Naruto hand sign in the show, these will all now be put into an upcoming live-action movie based on the series. The only information released regarding the film is that the director is Destin Daniel Creighton. Thus, nobody has been confirmed to be a part of the cast. However, this has not stopped anime viewers from starting to fan-cast actors they would love to see in the movie.

Fan-casting does not necessarily guarantee that these actors will be in the movie. It will, though, show the filmmakers the type of actors their intended audience wants. If these filmmakers take into account which actors audiences want, then they will be guaranteed a good turnout for the movie's release. As for the Naruto live-action movie in development, this could very much happen. One of the fan castings that could lead to the movie's success is the casting of Hiroyuki Sanada.

Related Naruto Ending Explained, Who Won Naruto & Sasuke's Final Fight? Masashi Kishimoto's story of Naruto and Sasuke features one of fiction's most satisfying conclusions in a final battle that's as epic as it is poetic.

Hiroyuki Sanada As Naruto’s Third Hokage Would Be Perfect Casting

Sanada Heavily Resembles This Beloved Character

Close

The Third Hokage of Naruto is Hiruzen Sarutobi, one of the series' leading characters. He is a showstopping ninja and the village's ruler in the show. His character has a wise, calming, and powerful essence to him. These traits cause him to have a significant role in the anime and thus will play an essential role in the live-action movie. That is if the film stays true to the source. Hiruzen Sarutobi and his influence are not some features that Naruto's live-action movie should not adapt.

Famous Roles Of Hiroyuki Sanada Movie Shimazu Koji John Wick: Chapter 4 The Elder Bullet Train Scorpion Mortal Combat (2021) Shingen Yashida The Wolverine

Sanada could easily portray a character like Naruto's Hiruzen Sarutobi. He has a persona that allows him to have a powerful presence on screen in past projects, which is exactly what is needed for portraying the live-action version of the Third Hokage. Not to mention, an actor who has experience acting in combat scenes is required for adapting Naruto scenes, like Naruto beating the Third Hokage. Sanada's past roles prove that he could perform in these combat scenes.

Hiroyuki Sanada’s Shogun Role Proves He Would Be Great As Hiruzen Sarutobi

These Roles Are Extremely Similar

This role has many similarities to the Third Hokage from Naruto. After all, they are both powerful leaders who also happen to be warriors.

Shogun premiered earlier this year on FX. It has instantly become one of the best TV shows of 2024. Sanada portrays Yoshii Toranaga, the omnipotent and powerful leader of the Kanto region, who is trying to defeat his enemies despite being heavily outnumbered by them. This role has many similarities to the Third Hokage from Naruto. After all, they are both powerful leaders who also happen to be warriors. Not to mention how both are wise and have this calming essence that explains why they are such good leaders.

Given that Sanada already portrays a character that is deeply similar to Naruto's Hiruzen Sarutobi, he would easily be the perfect actor for the beloved anime character. He may want to avoid risking typecasting. Since these characters have already established themselves as iconic fictional warriors, they would not promote typecasting. Sanada would display the wide range of different warriors he could portray. This avoidance can especially happen, given how complex the original anime is. After all, Naruto changed anime forever because of its fantastic complexity.

The Naruto Movie Must Get Its Cast Right If It Wants To Live Up To The Anime

The Casting Could Make Or Break This Upcoming Film

Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury

Anime series like Naruto have developed such large followings that viewers are heavily invested in the production and casting of live-action films. An example of this already happening is One Piece. It had an excellent cast, and thus, the show's success was greater than expected. Other aspects of the show also influenced this success, including having the plot stay accurate to the anime series while adding new and important details. If there was not a good cast, though, the show could have kissed its success goodbye. The plot is nothing if there are no excellent actors to carry it out.

Naruto and One Piece are not the only anime series to receive live-action adaptations. Death Note also had a live-action movie adaptation that premiered on Netflix in 2017. However, the casting was very controversial, as it appeared inaccurate to the original anime series.

The success of One Piece and the means to get there are exactly the roads the live-action Naruto must take. If anything, to guarantee success, the movie must have at least one major advantage over One Piece. Without staying true to the original series and having a cast that perfectly captures the essence of all the characters, the movie will risk being underwhelming and potentially even disrespectful to the anime. The success will then be non-existent. Therefore, they must cast someone like Sanada as the Third Hokage.

The Naruto live-action movie will undoubtedly have quite the reaction when it announces its cast. If the filmmakers follow through with the fan-casting of Sanada as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the film's success could easily be in the cards. Plus, this casting will help the live-action to do the anime justice with his similar essence to the character. However, audiences will have to wait and see who is cast in Naruto to know what the film's success will look like.