Masashi Kishimoto
Following the conclusion of "Naruto", Kishimoto became involved in the "Start of a New Era Project" commemorating the manga's conclusion and 15th anniversary. On the last page of the final chapter, "Weekly Shonen Jump" announced that a spin-off miniseries, also authored by Kishimoto, would be released in 2015. The series, "", ran from April to July 2015. Beyond this, Kishimoto was also heavily involved with two canonical movies, "" and "", as he personally supervised both movies, and illustrated several light novels. When asked by Boruto Uzumaki's voice actress Yūko Sanpei to continue making "Naruto" movies, Kishimoto stated that he was taking a break and could not physically do so.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie
"Boruto" was first announced in December 2014 by a post-credits scene in "". Kishimoto stated the film would star the son of Naruto and Hinata, Boruto Uzumaki, as well as Sasuke and Sakura's daughter, Sarada. While not knowing what the film would be about, voice actress Junko Takeuchi was pleased with the announcement. While having too many thoughts about the film, Kishimoto stated he was not sure what technique Boruto would use in the story. Director Hiroyuki Yamashita was added to the project in December 2014, and Masashi Kishimoto began writing the script the following month. Yamashita said that he had felt pressured due to the time constraints, owing to the movie's planned release date, and had almost refused to direct it. Kishimoto explained that he felt he could rely on Yamashita based on his work on the animated adaptations of the "Naruto" manga. Kishimoto had originally envisioned the film's storyline as a manga, but did not feel there was enough time to complete it and chose to write a screenplay instead.