After much talk of an American adaptation of the popular manga and anime series Death Note, a new company has stepped up to finally give the project the attention it deserves. Netflix is in talks to get the film by Adam Wingard (The Guest) added to its ever growing plethora of titles aimed at the geek market.
The original manga followed a student named Light Yagami who obtained a book called the Death Note which could kill a person by simply writing their name in its pages. Light was aided by a Shinigami (God of Death, think the grim reaper) name Ryuk and began to use the book to deliver his own brand of justice onto the world. His actions gathered the attention of a recluse detective known only as L who set out to bring the perpetrator of the killings to justice.
The series garnished a huge fan following with fans siding with Light, L, and sometimes both of them through the vast discussion of whose justice was right. The manga resulted in a 37 episode anime, three live action films in Japan, and just last year, a TV series. In, 2009, Warner Brothers announced they were working on their own adaptation. Due to studio restaffing, the film was left in pre-production for many years.
The film will star Nat Wolff (Paper Towns) and Margaret Qualley (HBO’s The Leftovers). Netflix has not disclosed a release date but given their track record of other adaptations including Daredevil and Jessica Jones, fans may finally be able to breath easier about this series coming to America.
