The first full trailer has been released for Netflix first Japanese-Manga-to-American-Film adaptation Death Note, and it looks like it’s going to be a divisive thrill ride.
Death Note is an exciting yarn about a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, owned by a death spirit, which gifts him the powers to kill anybody he wants simply by writing their name in it.
The film, which is the first fully English-speaking adaptation of the original Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata Manga, is to be directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest, Godzilla Vs Kong), and will star Nat Wolff, as the infamous lead character Light Turner, while Willem Dafoe exercises his vocal chords as malevolent death spirit Ryuk. Margaret Qualley, Lakeith Stanfield (as the polarizing L), Paul Nakauchi, and Shea Whigham also star.
The trailer itself gives us plenty to be excited about. Ryuk is a spot-on interpretation of the classic character, while the US setting offers us an exciting new twist on the familiar story. Of course, this brings with it the divisive tone, as hardcore fans find themselves with their knickers in a twist over the obvious change from the source material.
While speaking to IGN, Wingard had the following to say on the subject:
“It’s one of those things where the harder I tried to stay 100 percent true to the source material, the more it just kind of fell apart. You’re in a different country, you’re in a different kind of environment, and you’re trying to also summarize a sprawling series into a two-hour-long film. For me, it became about what do these themes mean to modern day America, and how does that affect how we tell the story. Ultimately, the cat and mouse chase between Light and L, the themes of good, evil, and what’s in between the grey area. Those are the core things of Death Note, and that’s really what we went for.”
Over the last few years, Netflix has been at the forefront of exciting, new television and film. Whether it’s Stranger Things or GLOW, or films like Okja, it seems for the most part the streaming service can do no wrong, so we’re sure Death Note is in the right hands. And God help any critics that say otherwise! They’re sure to find their names written in the book!
Death Note begins streaming August 25, 2017.
