Willem Dafoe is known for some iconic cinematic characters, and now you can add the Shinigami Ryuk of Death Note to that list.
According to Mashable, Willem Dafoe has closed a deal to voice Ryuk in Adam Wingard’s adaptation of the popular Manga and Anime series, Death Note. Dafoe will be alongside actors such as Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Paul Nakauchi and Shea Whigham.
Based on the wildly popular Japanese Manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high-school student Light Yagami (Wolff) who comes across a notebook that is imbued with power. The notebook gives him the ability to kill anyone by writing down their name. Thinking he knows what is right for the world, he quickly goes about killing anyone who he feels is bad or undeserving.
The project was originally set up at Warner Bros. but has since moved to Netflix, where the project is currently in production.
Netflix has had a series of fantastic shows including, Stranger Things, House of Cards, and Bojack Horsemen, along with bringing over a selection of exclusive anime such as Knights of Sidonia and The Seven Deadly Sins. It will be interesting to see how this new film fits into their lineup and if fans will accept it as part of the Death Note franchise.
Death Note currently has numerous works based on the Manga out of Japan. With an Anime series crafted by Madhouse that ran for two seasons, movies and a live action television series it will be exciting to see how this new film tackles the subject matter. Hopefully it manages to find that balance between offering something new and sticking close to the source material. Only time will tell.
Willem Dafoe is a two-time Oscar nominee who has appeared in such works as Spider-Man, John Carter, and the Boondock Saints. He was recently seen in John Wick where he played the role of Marcus, an old guard assassin, who helps out the titular character John Wick. He is currently working on Justice League, currently in production and slated for a 2017 release.