Now in production with Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley and Keith Stanfield among the leads, the US adaptation of manga Death Note has added a notable name to its roster, albeit one who will be heard rather than seen on screen. Willem Dafoe is aboard to voice Ruyk, the Shinigami.
Death Note has Wolff playing a student in a big city who discovers a supernatural notebook bearing dark powers. It allows him to kill anyone he wishes by writing the victim’s name in the book and sets him on a path as a self-styled vigilante, taking out anyone he believes to be evil. His grand plan is a world free of terror, but you can imagine what might happen when a young man takes control of such power and wants to create a utopia...
Ruyk in the original story by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, is a "death god", a member of a powerful race of extra-dimensional beings who decides to leave the notebook in our world to create chaos and extend his life through its use.
The Guest's Adam Wingard, who just dropped a sneaky new Blair Witch Project sequel on the world (head here to watch the new trailer for what is simply called Blair Witch) is directing the film, which began life as a Warner Bros. project but is now under Netflix's care. It should be on screens next year.
Dafoe will next be seen in The Great Wall (out February 24) and will pop up as Aquaman's enemy in Justice League, which has a release date of November 17 next year.