Have we finally turned the corner on live-action anime/manga adaptations? For years, major studios couldn't get any of them completed, or in the case of Akira they couldn't even get them started. But now things have changed. Not only do we have Ghost in the Shell arriving this month, but this summer the forever-developing adaptation of Death Note will bring a touch of supernatural horror to Netflix users.
Once a project that had Gus Van Sant and Shane Black attached at different points, the film is now directed by genre maestro Adam Wingard (The Guest), and he's the perfect choice for a story that combines mystery, the paranormal, and teenage angst. Nat Wolff stars as Light, a young man who discovers a mystical notebook with the power to kill anybody whose name is written in it. Light decides to use the book to wage a one-man war on crime, only to attract the attention of a dogged detective, played by Keith Stanfield. Oh, and the notebook belongs to a demon. That might be a problem.
Also starring Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Masi Oka, Paul Nakauchi, and Willem Dafoe as the voice of Ryuk the demon, Death Note hits Netflix on August 25th.
