Death Note (2017 film)

Death Note is an upcoming American feature film adaptation of the Death Note manga.

Most recent reports indicate that Netflix is developing the film, which will be written by Jeremy Slater, directed by Adam Wingard, and star Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley. A release date has not yet been announced and they are awaiting the official greenlight, but they have a cast in place and they plan to begin filming in 2016.

Early development
On January 14, 2007, the Malaysian paper The Star stated that more than ten film companies in the United States had expressed interest in the rights for a Death Note remake. On June 2nd, 2008, Shock Till You Drop reported that the American production company Vertigo Entertainment was developing the remake with Vlas and Charles Parlapanides as screenwriters. On April 30, 2009, Variety reported that Warner Bros., the distributors for the original Japanese live-action films, had acquired the American rights for the remake, with the original screenwriters still attached, along with Vertigo's producers Roy Lee and Doug Davison, in addition to producers Dan Lin and Brian Witten. The release date was tentatively set for the year 2015.

On January 13, 2011, Deadline announced that Shane Black had been hired to direct the film, with the script being written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry. On October 29, 2011, Black explained at a Long Beach Comic Con panel that the film was in jeopardy. Warner Brothers initially wanted Light Yagami to become the good guy while Ryuk would be cut from the plot altogether. Black was largely opposed to this and insisted that a faithful adaptation was the correct way to go. Black went on to say that eventually the original elements of the main character Light had been restored in the script, and added that this is what the film should be about. A year and a half later, on April 24, 2013, Black confirmed in an interview with Bleeding Cool that he was still working on the film. More than another year after that, on July 8, 2014, The Tracking Board reported that Gus Van Sant would direct the film since Shane Black was leaving for another project.

On April 27, 2015, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Adam Wingard would direct the film, with the most recent version of the script written by Jeremy Slater. Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka were announced as producers, in addition to Roy Lee and Dan Lin. On September 29, 2015, Variety reported that Nat Wolff was cast as the student who finds the Death Note. On November 12th, 2015, Deadline reported that Margaret Qualley was in negotiations for the female lead. On February 22, 2016, producer Roy Lee said in an interview with Collider that they were still waiting for the official greenlight, but they plan on making the movie this year. Lee also stated that they had a cast in place and the film would definitely be rated R.

On April 6, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Warner Brothers was looking to release fewer films following the poor reception of Batman v. Superman. Later that day, The Wrap reported that Warner Brothers had dropped Death Note, but the project was now getting picked up by Netflix. Keith Stanfield might also join the cast, although an official offer had not yet been made.

Controversy
Following the announcements in 2015 revealing the lead actors, the project saw criticism from professionals and fans alike for whitewashing Japanese characters. Asian-American actor Edward Zo posted a video about his personal attempts to audition for the lead role of Light, which he was unable to do because the role was limited to only white actors. Asian-American actress Arden Cho also criticized the whitewashing on Twitter, quoting actress Viola Davis saying, "you cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there," and added that there was a "LONG way to go for Asians when we can't even book Animes." No one from Warner Brothers has responded to the controversy.

Trivia

 * The announcement that the film would be rated R came out just eight days after Deadpool's record-breaking release. Deadpool was the first major comic book film adaptation to be rated R, while similar adaptations have stayed with lower ratings to keep them accessible to underage fans. The major success of an R-rated comic book movie might have provided the Death Note production team leverage to go with an R rating.