Naruto fans have been promised a 20th-anniversary project for four years and gotten a countdown clock. On Wednesday, September 9, Variety reported something more concrete: the one-hour Naruto panel at New York Comic Con on October 10 is expected to announce a new animated film, along with its worldwide premiere. Anime Corner and CBR carried the report the same day.
This is a report, not an announcement. VIZ Media teased "exciting new updates" for October 10 back on August 19 without saying what they were. Variety's sourcing fills in the blank.
Who's in the room
The panel runs at 5 p.m. at the Javits Center. Junko Takeuchi, the Japanese voice of Naruto since 2002, and Noriaki Sugiyama, the voice of Sasuke, are confirmed guests. So is Yoshihiko Tominaga, an executive producer at Studio Pierrot, and a representative from Bandai. You don't fly Pierrot's EP and both lead actors to New York for a card game.
Variety's language is specific: highlights "are expected to include an announcement related to a new animated film along with its worldwide premiere, new information and the first promotional video for the Naruto Card Game, and additional surprise announcements regarding other media developments."

Two Narutos at once
This is a separate project from Lionsgate's live-action film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, which launched a worldwide open casting call for Team 7 in July. That's the Hollywood version. This is the Pierrot version, the one that would actually look like the show.
For the audience that grew up on Toonami Naruto, the animated film is the one that matters. Shippuden ended in 2017; Boruto never captured the same room; the 20th-anniversary remake episodes announced in 2023 got delayed into the void. A new feature, premiered to a New York crowd, is the first sign in years that Pierrot is treating the flagship as a flagship. Naruto was the anime that Black kids in the 2000s claimed as their own the way the previous generation claimed Dragon Ball Z, and the Talk No Jutsu memes never died. Neither did the market.
The card game is the other tell. Bandai's Naruto TCG has a 2027 global launch; a first promo at NYCC means the brand is building a 2027 that has a film, a game, and a live-action movie in development all at once. That's a franchise reboot in everything but name.
What to watch
October 10, 5 p.m. ET. If the film is real, expect a title, a teaser, and a premiere date the same night. If it's not, expect a very long card game presentation. Variety doesn't usually miss on these.
## Sources - New Naruto Anime Film Announcement Expected at New York Comic Con 2026 — Anime Corner (@animecorner_ac), Sept. 9, 2026 - Naruto Panel Set for New York Comic Con — Variety (@Variety), Sept. 9, 2026 - Naruto's October 10 Anime Update at NYCC — CBR, Sept. 2026 - Naruto New Project to Be Announced on October 10, 2026 at NYCC — Anime Corner, Aug. 19, 2026

