Netflix continues to make going outside and having social life difficult, as today Variety reports that the streaming giant beat Lionsgate and STX for the rights to produce and distribute the live-action adaptation of Death Note.
The cult Manga work has been in development for years at Warner Bros., who chose to let go of the R-rated project even though it had some great talent attached. It looks like director Adam Wingard - the man responsible for '80s throwback thriller The Guest - is still involved along with his lead actor. The Fault In Our Stars' Nat Wolff stars as a teenager who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone he wants simply by writing their name in it. He takes it upon himself to Do Good and winds up attracting the attention of a retired police detective.
It's a killer concept (chortle!) that takes its cues from the original Manga by Tsugumi Ohba. Ohba won't be involved in writing the movie as Wingard and Fantastic Four scribe Jeremy Slater are handling the script.
Directed by Adam Wingard and starring Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley, Death Note is scheduled to begin production in June with a release date yet to be announced.
Images: Shueisha/Viz
