{"rewrite":{"id":"r_ef7097f8785785979dfb7c7e","clusterId":"c_034405cd8fd5730a428df771","slug":"sony-joins-lionsgate-s-live-action-naruto-as-co-financier","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Sony Joins Lionsgate's Live-Action Naruto as Co-Financier","summary":"Sony is co-financing and handling international distribution for Lionsgate's live-action Naruto film, with production greenlit to start in spring 2027. Destin Daniel Cretton directs and produces through Hisako with Jeyun Munford, alongside Arad Productions' Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu, and Jeremy Latcham. The franchise opened a global casting search in July for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. Charles Melton was previously reported in final negotiations for Kakashi Hatake.","whyItMatters":"A second major studio sharing cost and overseas distribution on a manga adaptation that has been in development since 2015 gives Lionsgate a partner on the riskiest part of the bet, the international rollout.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe Hollywood Reporter put Sony on the financing and international distribution side of the Lionsgate project, which follows multi-studio bidding. Destin Daniel Cretton, whose credits include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, directs and produces through Hisako with Jeyun Munford; Arad Productions\u0026#39; Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Emmy Yu and Jeremy Latcham are also producers.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCasting has been the visible part of the work. The official site announced a global search on July 10 for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, with other roles to follow, and Charles Melton was earlier reported in final negotiations for Kakashi Hatake.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Sony joining Lionsgate's Naruto as co-financier matters because Sony also handles international distribution: the two studios now share both the upside and the risk on a spring 2027 shoot, and neither can walk away quietly.","twitterPost":"Sony co-financing Naruto also puts it in charge of international distribution, so it owns both the money and the overseas rollout for Lionsgate's film.","threadsPost":"Sony joining Lionsgate's live-action Naruto as co-financier puts Sony in charge of international distribution too. That split means the two studios now share both the money and the overseas rollout, which ties them together through the spring 2027 production start.","newsletterBlurb":"Sony is co-financing and handling international distribution for Lionsgate's live-action Naruto film, which The Hollywood Reporter says is greenlit for a spring 2027 production start. Destin Daniel Cretton directs and produces through Hisako. The franchise's official site opened a global casting search in July for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-11-03/hollywood-reporter-sony-to-co-finance-distribute-live-action-naruto-film-begin-production-in-spring-/.243485\",\"title\":\"Hollywood Reporter: Sony to Co-Finance, Distribute Live-Action Naruto Film, Begin Production in Spring 2027\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":5459,"outputTokens":787,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1793735393,"createdAt":"2026-11-03T19:43:57.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-11-03T19:48:51.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-03T19:48:51.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_034405cd8fd5730a428df771","canonicalTitle":"News\nHollywood Reporter: Sony to Co-Finance, Distribute Live-Action Naruto Film, Begin Production in Spring 2027","representativeArticleId":"a_6e160c3da9d4e4aa7574fd49","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[\"Naruto\"],\"work_titles\":[\"Naruto (live-action film)\"],\"studios\":[\"Sony\",\"Lionsgate\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"industry\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-11-03T19:00:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-11-03T19:00:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-03T19:48:52.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-11-03/hollywood-reporter-sony-to-co-finance-distribute-live-action-naruto-film-begin-production-in-spring-/.243485","title":"News\nHollywood Reporter: Sony to Co-Finance, Distribute Live-Action Naruto Film, Begin Production in Spring 2027"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":["Naruto"],"work_titles":["Naruto (live-action film)"],"studios":["Sony","Lionsgate"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"industry","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Sony is co-financing and handling international distribution for Lionsgate's live-action Naruto film, following multi-studio bidding.","The film is greenlit to begin production in spring 2027.","Destin Daniel Cretton directs and produces through Hisako alongside Jeyun Munford.","The Naruto franchise's official website announced a global casting search on July 10 for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.","The Hollywood Reporter previously reported Charles Melton in final negotiations to play Kakashi Hatake."],"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":["naruto","naruto-live-action-film","sony","lionsgate"],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[{"slug":"naruto","supported":1,"disputed":1,"contradicted":0,"unverified":48,"overall":"yellow","story_count":56,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"naruto-live-action-film","supported":3,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":0,"overall":"green","story_count":1,"has_dossier":false},{"slug":"sony","supported":5,"disputed":0,"contradicted":1,"unverified":14,"overall":"red","story_count":19,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"lionsgate","supported":2,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":2,"overall":"green","story_count":4,"has_dossier":true}],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}