Beef star Charles Melton is reportedly in final negotiations for a key role in the upcoming live-action Naruto movie.
The film, which is being directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Spider-Man: Brand New Day), is based on the popular manga series by Masashi Kishimoto, which follows a young ninja called Naruto who has ambitions to lead his village but must grapple with having the spirit of a demon inside of him.
Melton rose to fame on the long-running CW series Riverdale as Reggie Mantle. His other credits include Todd Haynes's May December, Alex Garland's Warfare and Nicolas Winding Refn's Her Private Hell.
The actor had been rumoured to be starring as Beast in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men movie, but new reports have indicated that he might have turned down the role.
It was announced that a global casting search for the live-action Naruto film had kicked off last month, which is looking for stars to play Team 7, made up of three young shinobi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.
Cretton posted a photo of himself with the Naruto's creator, Masashi Kishimoto, on Instagram, and wrote alongside in the caption: "Kishimoto-sensei's stories have inspired generations of fans around the world, and it’s an honour to bring his world and characters to the big screen in live action for the very first time."
He added: "I'm thrilled to kick off this worldwide casting search for our Team 7 and to bring the incredible universe of Naruto to life!"
Kishimoto said: "Right now, miracles are happening to me, one after another. My work, Naruto, is truly, truly becoming a Hollywood movie! And an even greater miracle is that the film will be directed by the one and only Destin Daniel Cretton. I still cannot believe it!
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"If so many miracles have already come together, then let us hope for even more. I am eagerly looking forward to the miraculous encounters that will bring us extraordinary and passionate actors! I cannot wait to meet my characters in the film!"
The original Naruto manga ran between 1999 and 2014, and has so far received two series adaptations between 2002 and 2007, and 2007 and 2017.
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