Netflix released the first trailer for their upcoming original film, a live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese manga, Death Note.
The story will follow Light Turner, a bright student who stumbles across the Death Note, a mystical notebook with the power to kill any person whose name is written into it. After finding it, Light decides to take justice into his own hands, ridding the streets of criminals. It isn’t long until Light finds himself being pursued by a famous detective going by the alias, L.
The film will star American actor Nat Wolff as protagonist Light Turner. The role of L will be played by Lakeith Stanfield, an actor who recently played a role in the immensely successful horror film, Get Out. Ryuk, an important character in the original series will be voiced by William Defoe.
The manga series Death Note was written and illustrated by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata respectively in 2003, ending in 2006. It originally followed genius high school student Light Yagami, who after finding a Death Note meets Ryuk, a Shinigami (Death God) who dropped the book into the human world in search of entertainment. Light aims to use the book to kill criminals, leaving only those he sees morally fit to live in his newly formed utopia with the private detective L, attempting to stop him.
Death Note became a global success and has received many adaptations since the time of its ending. In 2006, a 37 episode anime series was created, retelling the series but with a few small changes. Two animated movies were released in 2007 and 2008, once again telling the story in an abridged form, adding in new opening and ending scenes. In Japan, five live action movies have been made, adapting the popular manga with a number of changes along with a live action TV series and a theatrical musical, both debuting in 2015.
The upcoming Netflix film will mark the first American adaptation of the Death Note series and will debut on the app exclusively on August 25, 2017.
