Naruto Animated Film Announcement Is Set for NYCC 2026 — What VIZ Has Confirmed

VIZ Media has confirmed that its NARUTO: What’s Next? panel at New York Comic Con on October 10, 2026 will include an announcement related to a new animated film and its worldwide premiere. That makes the film-related panel announcement official, replacing the earlier trade-report-only status of this article. VIZ has not yet given the film a title, story, release date or confirmed cast.

What VIZ Has Now Confirmed

The panel runs Saturday, October 10, from 5–6 p.m. EDT on the Empire Stage, North Javits, Level 5. VIZ names Japanese voice actors Junko Takeuchi (Naruto Uzumaki) and Noriaki Sugiyama (Sasuke Uchiha), along with Studio Pierrot producer Yoshihiko Tominaga, as guests.

VIZ’s panel highlights include an announcement related to a new animated film and its worldwide premiere, new information and the first promotional video for the NARUTO CARD GAME, and other media announcements. The broader program also promises animation updates and first-look promotional videos. VIZ has not said that any promised footage is a trailer for the film.

The distinction in the second row matters: VIZ has confirmed what the panel will address, not yet supplied the film’s premiere date or promised a simultaneous worldwide theatrical release. October 10 is the panel date, not a movie opening date.

What VIZ Still Hasn’t Revealed

The media alert gives no film title, premise, director, writer, animation-studio assignment, runtime, release window or distributor. Takeuchi and Sugiyama are panel guests; that does not confirm their characters appear in the film. Tominaga’s appearance does not, by itself, establish that Studio Pierrot is animating it.

Variety’s August report was early to identify a film angle. VIZ’s later first-party alert now confirms that a new animated-film announcement belongs to the panel’s agenda. The specific details still have to come from the panel or another official release.

This Is Separate From Two Other Naruto Projects

The four-episode 20th-anniversary anime was postponed from its September 2023 broadcast. The official notice says a revised schedule will be announced once finalized. VIZ’s film wording does not identify those episodes as the movie or give them a new air date.

The Lionsgate live-action Naruto film is also distinct. The official Naruto site reported in July 2026 that director Destin Daniel Cretton and Lionsgate had launched a global casting search for the young Team 7 leads. That is a live-action production, whereas VIZ’s NYCC alert explicitly refers to an animated film.

What Happens Next?

The October 10 panel is the next scheduled point for film details. This article will be updated at the same URL if VIZ or another first-party source announces a title, premise, production team, footage or concrete premiere plans. Until then, “worldwide premiere” is VIZ’s description of an upcoming announcement, not a confirmed release schedule.