that naruto The series has become one of the global faces of animation, maintaining its undying success and enduring popularity even though the franchise itself ended several years ago. that naruto The manga ended on November 10, 2014, and the anime followed on March 23, 2017. Almost a decade has passed since then, and fans still can't get enough of this incredible story.
This is thanks to Kishimoto's massive world filled with amazing characters, including both exciting heroes and villains. Naruto saw the birth of some of the most iconic villains in anime in general, with villains like Pain and Madara becoming icons around the world. On July 16, 2026, Masashi Kishimoto made a new appearance, revealing that the series had a major influence on the way Spider-Man writes his villains. Kishimoto expressed that he likes villains who are not just evil, but have a backstory. This can be clearly seen reflected in his work.
Kishimoto reveals that the main inspiration behind his villainy comes from his love for the Spiderman franchise.
Masashi Kishimoto is the legendary Japanese cartoonist behind the iconic ninja boy manga Naruto. Kishimoto began this masterpiece in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 43 on September 21, 1999, and the rest is history. With the story growing explosively and becoming one of the best-selling series in the world, it's no surprise that Kishimoto has become an influential figure around the world.
Recently, I was surprised to see Kishimoto appear in public for the first time in several years. In Disney+'s new documentary 'Generations The Evolution Of Spider-Man', released on July 15, 2026, Kishimoto appears as a guest and makes a few comments about the Spider-Man franchise as a whole. This new 26-minute documentary explores the history of the Spider-Man franchise in film, looking at every Spider-Man adaptation from Tobey Maguire to Tom Holland.
It's been no secret before that Kishimoto is heavily inspired by Spider-Man and is a huge fan of the franchise. The documentary revealed through Kishimoto himself that Naruto's villains were directly inspired by Spider-Man's villains. Kishimoto said that in Spider-Man, the villains are often not evil. They don't commit crimes because they were born that way. Instead, they are evil because of their past, and the Naruto manga often deals with villains similarly.
He said Spider-Man's villains often have backstories that explain their motivations and actions. All of this deeply inspired Kishimoto, which is why we see so many Naruto villains with their own tragic backstories to inspire their motivations and actions. Naruto's villain backstory is definitely a major part of the story and has led to the creation of some of the series' most iconic villains. If Kishimoto hadn't been a fan of Spider-Man, the villain we've come to love might have been written completely differently, with a more purely evil antagonist.
Characters like Pain, Gaara, and Obito are directly inspired by Spider-Man villains.
In a recent interview, Kishimoto revealed how he follows the Spider-Man formula when creating his villains. naruto. The Spider-Man franchise itself has many iconic antagonists, including the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Venom, who have become recognizable movie and comic icons for millions of fans. These villains have fascinating backstories that elevate their characters from simple antagonists to fan favorites.
The Naruto franchise is the same in that Kishimoto created some of the most recognizable villains in all of anime. Some of them have become so large that they are very recognizable even to non-anime fans. Even at the beginning, Naruto had some amazing villains like Haku and Zabuza in the Land of the Waves arc before Naruto's timekip. These two characters have been defined by their backstories and have become a key part of what makes fans stick with Naruto.
We also found Gaara's backstory definitely piqued our interest and made him the standout character he is today, allowing him to work his way toward redemption after being defeated by Naruto. Freetime Skip Naruto was fantastic, but the second half of the story featured more of Kishimoto's skillful and fascinating villain. One of the villains created by Kishimoto is Pain. Pain's arc has become a fan favorite in Naruto overall, and his backstory has continued to show his life from Amegakure orphan to overpowered ninja, falling from grace after seeing his childhood friend Yahiko die. This made him very memorable and increased the impact of the entire battle with Naruto. Lastly, Obito Uchiha, one of Naruto's final antagonists, is also a tragic figure who became a villain due to all the wrongs done to him. These villains are just the tip of the iceberg of the Naruto franchise, and Kishimoto has certainly created a variety of iconic antagonists that have defined the entire shonen anime genre.
Kishimoto's first appearance in years is directly tied to the upcoming Naruto live-action release.
Many fans are wondering why Kishimoto suddenly appeared in the Spider-Man documentary since it's rare for him to show his face so eagerly in public. Overall, Kishimoto has only made a few public appearances and this is definitely one of the biggest to date. First and foremost, Kishimoto appeared in the Spider-Man documentary because he himself was a major fan of the Spider-Man franchise, and this defined the way he wrote the overall story. However, there is another reason why Kishimoto showed himself like this this time.
“I’ve seen a few of Destin’s previous films, and it’s rare to find someone who can do both the dramatic and the human emotions while shooting action and doing really cool action.” — Kishimoto
As many fans know, Naruto has a new project in Hollywood. This new project is known as Naruto the Movie and is a live-action adaptation of the Naruto series. This live-action adaptation is currently in pre-production, and the producers are looking for cast members for the main trio of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. The director of this new film produced by LionsGate has been revealed to be Destin Daniel Cretton. The director is best known for his work on the upcoming Spider-Man film Spider-Man: A Brand New Day, which is scheduled for release on July 30, 2026. Because of this, there is a clear connection between the director of the upcoming Spider-Man film and a new project featuring Kishimoto's own work.
As the project gets closer, we may see more public appearances from Kishimoto in the future to advertise his upcoming work, which will see his series come to life with real actors for the first time in a decade. As of now, we don't know when the Naruto movie will come out, but since the project is still in its early stages, you shouldn't expect it to come out anytime soon. It could be released sometime between 2028 and 2029, but this is a guess. Nonetheless, we're looking forward to seeing what comes out of this project after the success of the One Piece live-action movie.
