“The human whose name is written in this note shall die.” That is, in essence, the crux of Death Note, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s morbid Japanese manga that’s bound for Netflix in 2017.
Piggybacking on the excitement generated by Paramount’s Ghost in the Shell movie, Netflix has today unveiled the frightening first teaser for Adam Wingard’s R-rated adaptation, one which finds Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars) uncovering the titular supernatural notebook. At only 55 seconds in length, chances are you’ll need to sit down and watch Death Note‘s inaugural promo two or three times before identifying all the pertinent story beats, but it’s still an exciting teaser nonetheless.
Perhaps cautious of revealing too much, too soon, you’ll also be able to hear Willem Dafoe’s unruly, all-powerful Ryuk let out a chilling cackle. Known as a Shinigami in the Death Note lore, Dafoe’s deity is worshipped as a god of death, one who grants Light (Wolff) with the ability to choose a person’s fate on a whim. In the wrong hands, it’s a weapon capable of mass carnage, and up above you’ll get a small glimpse of the impressive scale and scope of Wingard’s live-action thriller.
Also starring Lakeith Stanfield, Shea Whigham and Margaret Qualley, Netflix’s official logline reads as so:
A student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone begins a crusade against evil in order to rule the world as a benevolent human god. Then a deadly game of cat and mouse begins when a reclusive detective begins to track down the young man, attempting to end his reign of terror once and for all.
Netflix will conjure up Death Note on August 25th. Closer to home, we’re within touching distance of welcoming Rupert Sanders’ live-action Ghost in the Shell movie onto the big screen – March 31st is the date for your diaries – while there’s also the star-studded adaptation of Alita: Battle Angel to look forward to. A 2018 release date is in place for the latter, and we understand Fox plans to roll out the IMAX treatment for Robert Rodriguez’s long-anticipated actioner.