Over the last few weeks, the internet has been ablaze with rumours about Charles Melton and whether or not he could be in the frame to play Beast in Jake Schreier’s MCU X-Men movie. But with D23’s X-Cast announcement having come and gone and no big blue Melton reveal having materialised, it would appear — for now at least — that Marvel Studios is keeping its Beast (whoever that may be) under wraps for now. But fear not because, per Variety‘s reporting, Melton may have another major blockbuster — namely Destin Daniel Cretton’s upcoming live-action Naruto movie — on his near horizon.
According to Variety, Melton is in talks to play fan-favourite character Kakashi Hatake — elite ninja mentor to young wannabe Hokage Naruto and his pals — in Cretton’s movie, which just last month announced a global casting call is now underway to cast the titular kid hero and his fellow Team 7 squad members Sasuke and Sakura. News of Melton’s potential involvement comes hot on the heels of the Warfare and May December star’s recent Emmy nomination for his fantastic turn in Netflix’s Beef Season 2 — and given the diversity of the roles the Alaskan actor has played in recent years, it’s not hard to see why Cretton would be keen to see him explore a character as simultaneously mysterious, emotionally rich, and frankly damn cool as sensei Kakashi Hatake.
While Destin Daniel Cretton could be forgiven for resting on his laurels and taking a summer vacation after seeing his Spider-Man: Brand New Day swing to a staggering $2 billion and counting at the box office in recent weeks, it seems the in-demand filmmaker is already locking in for his next major franchise blockbuster. And honestly, after the one-two punch of Shang-Chi and Spidey, we could not be more seated for Cretton tackling ninjas, jutsu, and giant fox spirits. Bring. It. On!
