Charles Melton may very well be our new Kakashi, because the actor is reportedly in talks to painting the long-lasting masked shinobi in Destin Daniel Cretton’s upcoming Naruto film.
Sources informed The Hollywood Reporter that Melton is within the last phases of negotiations to take the function, that means his spot within the movie is sort of totally secured.
Melton is sensible as Kakashi; the actor, greatest recognized for his performances in Beef Season 2 and Riverdale, is an avid manga reader and an enormous anime fan. In an interview with The New Yorker again in April, Melton admitted that he hadn’t been sleeping as a result of he’d been watching anime “till 4 o’clock within the morning nearly each different day.”
He listed his favorites collection as Dragon Ball Z, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen. “Dragon Ball Z, that’s simply the traditional,” he mentioned. “That’s my childhood. Demon Slayer, I imply, Tanjiro, man — he finds power within the love that he has for his sister and his mates. He’s probably the most honorable characters I’ve seen. Itadori in Jujutsu Kaisen — man, I simply love him, okay?”
Whereas Naruto wasn’t in his high three, we now have to confess he’d be an excellent match for the half particularly contemplating his martial arts expertise. Melton is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo and won gold within the Worldwide Taekwondo Federation international nationals division whereas he lived in South Korea.
Responses to Melton’s all-but-assured casting as Kakashi have been about as wild and enthusiastic as you’d count on, with many remarking on how he reportedly turned down the chance to play Beast in Marvel’s upcoming X-Males film, a task that was later revealed to be reprised by Kesley Grammar.
“Now I can see why he dropped the function of MCU Beast for this,” one commenter wrote on X.
“So that is why he turned down the Beast function?” one other requested.
“Charles Melton as Kakashi truly is sensible… Y’all seeing the imaginative and prescient or am I loopy?” yet one more wrote.
Casting for Naruto himself continues to be underway. An open casting call was revealed in summer season 2026, reportedly searching for out younger male actors between 16 and 20 years previous who’re “athletic, energetic, expressive” and should communicate fluent English.
Mangaka Masashi Kishimoto, the creator of Naruto, spoke on the undertaking on the official Naruto web site, who excitedly mentioned he “can’t consider” his manga was being tailored into a significant Hollywood movie.
“Proper now, miracles are occurring to me, one after one other. My work, Naruto, is actually, really changing into a Hollywood film! And a fair larger miracle is that the movie will likely be directed by the one and solely Destin Daniel Cretton. I nonetheless can’t consider it!” he wrote.
That is the following huge undertaking for Cretton following Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a undertaking that broke records at the box office to grow to be one of many most profitable Marvel Movies in historical past.
Picture Credit: Chris Delmas / AFP through Getty Pictures
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s Information Editor. With ten years of expertise reporting on video games and leisure, she’s received a storied background within the preventing recreation neighborhood, influencer information, and viral on-line tendencies. Discover her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
