Charles Melton in Talks to Play Kakashi in Live-Action NARUTO Movie

The live-action Narutomovie may have found its Kakashi Hatake. Charles Meltonis reportedly in close talks to take on the fan-favorite ninja in director Destin Daniel Cretton’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Naruto.

If the deal comes together, Melton would step into the role of one of the manga and anime franchise’s most recognizable characters.

Kakashi is a major figure in the Naruto story, serving as the leader and mentor of Team 7, which includes Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno.

He’s an elite ninja with a laid-back personality, a mysterious past and some seriously formidable skills. Finding an actor who can sell all of those sides of the character is going to be important, and Melton is an interesting choice.

His potential involvement follows recent speculation that he might be announced as part of Marvel’s X-Men cast at D23. That didn’t happen, but now, another huge franchise may be calling his name.

The Naruto movie is currently conducting a global casting search for the actors who will play Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. That search kicked off last month as Lionsgate moves forward with bringing Masashi Kishimoto’s massively popular manga and anime franchise to the big screen.

The story centers on Naruto, a young ninja determined to earn the respect of his community and eventually become Hokage, the leader and protector of his village.

What starts as the journey of an unruly kid with enormous ambitions grows into a sprawling story involving friendship, rivalries, war, sacrifice and some spectacular ninja battles.

Melton has been building an impressive résumé over the past several years. He recently earned an Emmy nomination for Netflix’s Beef Season 2, where he appeared alongside Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Cailee Spaeny.

He also earned major critical praise for his performance in director Todd Haynes’ May December in 2023. His other credits include Her Private Hell, Warfare and Riverdale. Playing Kakashi would give Melton the chance to jump into a very different kind of role, and one that comes with a massive worldwide fanbase.

Cretton is also coming into Naruto after a huge theatrical win. His Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed more than $800 million domestically, becoming the fastest movie ever to reach that milestone.

His career started on a much smaller scale with 2013’s Short Term 12, starring Brie Larson, LaKeith Stanfield, Rami Malek and Kaitlyn Dever.

He followed that film with The Glass Castle and Just Mercy before moving into blockbuster territory with Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in 2021.

That combination of character-driven filmmaking and large-scale action makes Cretton an intriguing director for Naruto. This adaptation needs the wild ninja action fans expect, but the characters and relationships are what made the original story connect with so many people in the first place.

Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu are producing Naruto for Arad Productions alongside Jeremy Latcham. Cretton is also producing with Jeyun Munford through his company Hisako.

Hollywood has been trying to crack a live-action Naruto movie for quite some time. An earlier version of the project was being developed back in 2014 with Michael Gracey attached to direct, but that incarnation never made it to the screen.

Now the pieces are finally starting to come together, and Melton potentially playing Kakashi could be a solid choice. Kakashi is one of those characters who can be funny and effortlessly cool one minute, then become incredibly dangerous when things get serious.

Of course, he’s still only in talks, so the deal isn’t official yet. If Melton does sign on, though, the next big question becomes obvious: Who are they going to cast as Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura?