Charles Melton Is In Final Talks To Play Kakashi In The Live-Action Naruto Movie

Charles Melton, the Emmy-nominated star of Beef Season 2, known for May December and Riverdale, is in final talks to play Kakashi Hatake in Lionsgate's live-action Naruto movie directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported Wednesday.

He would be the first actor officially attached to the project.

Kakashi is Team 7's masked mentor and leader, a legendary ninja who guides Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, and one of the most beloved characters in Masashi Kishimoto's manga, which ran from 1999 to 2014 and sold more than 250 million copies.

Melton, 35, is approximately the right age for Kakashi's early arcs. He is also Korean American, consistent with the production's reported commitment to an authentically Asian cast.

The bonus detail: Melton is a second-degree taekwondo black belt who competed in the Junior Olympics in Seoul before becoming an actor. He did not need to fake his way into an action role. The role came to him.

Melton had been widely rumored for the role of Beast in Marvel's X-Men, which revealed its cast at D23 last week without him. Now we know why.

Cretton is coming off Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which has crossed $2 billion globally. Naruto is his next project with a production start eyed for February 2027.