An interesting development has transpired in the saga that has been Death Note‘s journey to the big screen for stateside audiences: The Adam Wingard-helmed adaptation is now being developed at Netflix. And it sounds like the streaming content provider is quite serious about plans to finally get the project off the ground, with designs on shooting this summer.
We know thus far that the project is targeting a hard R-rating. Producer Roy Lee spoke with Collider about the long-discussed adaptation of the horror manga and confirmed that the picture will absolutely be shooting for an R-Rating. He also noted that the adaptation will definitely be for adults.
The film was originally slated to shoot last Spring but has been plagued by a series of starts and stops. So, it will be great to see this finally get off the ground. Warner Brothers has had the rights to adapt the property for more than five years, so, it has definitely been a long road to get the ball rolling on this one.
As we said before, Adam Wingard is attached to direct the US feature film adaptation of the manga. It has already been adapted for the big screen in Japan which has been followed by a sequel.
Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka will be producing the adaptation. Doug Davison and Brian Witten are executive producing. Jeremy Slater penned the most recent draft of the script. Shane Black was attached to direct prior to Wingard coming on board. Margaret Qualley will star opposite Nat Wolff. And the project is slated to begin lensing this June.
No word on a targeted release date at this point but you can expect that it will be a while before the film is completed. Wingard is a talented and highly capable director. I am extremely excited to see how he adapts the source material.
Plot outline from THR: “The story centers on a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim’s name, who then decides to cleanse the world of whom he deems evil. As the student is tracked by a reclusive police officer, a cat-and-mouse game ensues.”
