Long before anime adaptations began seriously flooding Hollywood production pipelines,Naruto, one of the most iconic shōnen franchises of all time, came close to being turned into a blockbuster. In 2006, whenNarutowas riding high on Toonami and adult swim, Warner Bros. reportedly considered adapting the ninja epic into a live-action movie. The idea was to turn it into the nextHarry Potter.
That bombshell came from Amanda Nanawa, an anime industry veteran who managed programming at the Funimation Channel and ADV Films’ Anime Network. In a recentLinkedInpost, she and Dallas Middaugh revealed that Warner Bros. once asked Viz Media which IP they should take to the big screen. While Warner Bros. favoredNaruto, Nanawa recommendedBleachinstead, and her reasoning still holds weight today.
Why Warner Bros. Wanted Naruto to Be the Next Harry Potter
Naruto Was Almost Hollywood’s Next Wizarding Franchise
The early 2000s were a golden age for shōnen anime in the West.Naruto, Bleach, andOne Piece,collectively known as the Big Three, dominated anime fandom. At the same time, Warner Bros. was riding high on theHarry Potterfranchise, and saw potential parallels between the wizarding world and the Hidden Leaf Village.
To Warner Bros. execs,Narutooffered a similar formula, with a young, misunderstood protagonist attending a specialized school, building friendships, and fighting dark forces.The idea of adaptingNarutowith aHarry Potter-style tone made commercial sense. But Nanawa warned that working with child actors would be a logistical and creative minefield without the right director.
Chris Columbus, director of the first twoHarry Potterfilms, was cited by Nanawa as the kind of filmmaker who could possibly makeNarutowork. Without someone equally adept at handling young talent and fantastical storytelling, the adaptation could fall flat. And unlikeHarry Potter, Narutocomes with deep-rooted Japanese cultural elements, making a faithful Hollywood version far more complex.
Why Bleach Was the Safer, and Smarter, Choice
Why Bleach Made More Sense for Hollywood Than Naruto
According to Nanawa, she countered Warner Bros. interest in Naruto by suggestingBleachinstead.On paper,Bleachmay seem like the riskier bet that is more supernatural and stylized, but Nanawa argued it posed fewer production challenges. For one, it centered on older teen characters, avoiding the complications of child casting and performance.
Bleachalso lends itself more easily to Western reinterpretation. Its urban setting, stylish action, and ghost-hunting premise can be remixed into a Western fantasy thriller with minimal cultural dilution. And unlikeNaruto, its spiritual elements align more with global supernatural tropes than with specific Japanese ninja traditions.
Now, Warner Bros. is reportedly developing a newBleachproject, suggesting Nanawa’s instincts were ahead of their time.
Ironically,the live-actionBleacheventually got made, not by Hollywood, but in Japan. Netflix released a Japanese-language adaptation in 2018, which received mixed reviews but proved the story’s cinematic viability. Now, Warner Bros. is reportedly developing a newBleachproject, suggesting Nanawa’s instincts were ahead of their time.
After All These Years, Live-Action Naruto and Bleach Are Finally Happening
The Big Three’s Hollywood Dreams Might Still Come True
Fast-forward nearly two decades, and the live-action anime boom has finally arrived.One Piecereceived a surprisingly well-received Netflix adaptation in 2023, and nowNarutois officially in pre-production at Lionsgate. Meanwhile,Bleachis once again rumored to be in development at Warner Bros., coming full circle from that long-forgotten 2006 meeting.
The challenge of adaptingNarutowasn’t about spectacle; it was about tone, authenticity, and character.
What makes this history so fascinating is how prescient those early conversations were. Nanawa saw what many industry insiders overlooked: that anime adaptations needed more than studio enthusiasm; they needed creators who understood the material and its audience. The challenge of adaptingNarutowasn’t about spectacle; it was about tone, authenticity, and character.
The fact thatNarutois only now moving forward with a U.S. adaptation speaks volumes. For years, its core themes of loneliness, perseverance, and belonging have resonated with global fans. But telling that story without turning it into a generic fantasy flick takes careful navigation. With Lionsgate at the helm and Tasha Huo (Red Sonja, Tomb Raider) writing the script, the question becomes about whether they can stick the landing?
Akira, Anime Rights, and the Slow March Toward Hollywood Credibility
Akira Shows Why Hollywood Still Struggles With Anime
The story ofNarutoandBleachnearly getting picked up in the 2000s echoes a broader pattern in anime’s uneasy history with Hollywood.Akira,one of the most influential anime films of all time, has famously languished in development hell at Warner Bros. for over 20 years.According to Dallas Middaugh, former Crunchyroll manga exec, agents even sought his advice on how to build the relationships necessary to secure the rights.
The story Middaugh tells of persistent meetings, reputation-building, and careful diplomacy shows how intricate the process can be. Chernin Entertainment may have wantedAkira, but the cultural and business gap between Hollywood and Japan was simply too wide at the time. Rights are only granted when trust is earned.
Director Kazuaki Kiriya later admitted toreading drafts of theAkirascript in Hollywood, and wasn’t surprised it went nowhere. He questioned why a Japanese classic had to be sold to the West in the first place. Now, with Japanese tech and budgets finally catching up, Kiriya believes Japan itself can finally bringAkirato the world on its own terms.
The near-adaptation ofNarutoby Warner Bros. in 2006 is more than a fun bit of trivia; it’s a snapshot of anime’s long journey to legitimacy in Hollywood. Back then, studios saw anime only as IP goldmines. Today, they’re finally learning how to treat these stories with the care they deserve.
IfNarutohad been made in 2006, it likely would’ve been a soulless CGI mess. But 20 years later, the anime community is older, louder, and far more invested. Any adaptation that doesn’t understandNaruto’semotional heart is doomed to fail. But with the right creative team, and the lessons of the past, it just might work.Bleach, too, may finally get the treatment it deserves. And if it does, it will be thanks to voices like Amanda Nanawa and people who knew, long before Hollywood did, how powerful anime really is.
