Los Angeles, Aug. 21 -- Actor Charles Melton is in discussions to play Kakashi Hatake in Destin Daniel Cretton's upcoming action 'Naruto', reported Variety.

The news came amid ongoing speculation that Melton would be announced to join the 'X-Men' cast at the D23 convention. The casting search began last month to find the live-action versions of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.

The manga and popular anime series follows the story of adolescent ninja Naruto, who dreams of becoming his community's protector and leader known as the village ninja.

Melton was recently Emmy-nominated for his role in Netflix's 'Beef' Season 2 alongside Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, and Cailee Spaeny. He received critical acclaim for his work in Todd Haynes' 'May Dece...