Death Note

Like it or not, Netflix is delivering a sequel to last year’s controversial horror anime adaptation ‘Death Note’.  Directed by Adam Wingard (‘Blair Witch’, ‘The Guest’) ‘Death Note’ was originally intended to be released as a theatrical film by Warner Brothers, but was passed off to Netflix before filming began.  It starred Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Paul Nakauchi, and Jason Liles with Willem Dafoe portraying the Death God Ryuk.  (Supposedly, Wingard wanted David Bowie, then Prince to voice Ryuk, and both coincidentally died before the film went into production.)  ‘Death Note’ was doomed by accusations of white washing and it didn’t help that when it arrived, it was fairly mediocre.

But, like the so-so David Ayer/Will Smith fantasy ‘Bright’, enough viewers were curious enough to check it out that that translated to excellent streaming numbers for Netflix.  The streaming service didn’t make an official announcement of a ‘Death Note’ sequel.  Rather, this information was buried in a larger article from The Hollywood Reporter about Netflix’s future movie efforts.

“Among properties it already owns, Netflix is developing a sequel to 2017’s horror-thriller Death Note, which Sarandos has called a “sizable” success, with Greg Russo writing the script.”

Greg Russo did not contribute to the first movie’s script.  In fact, he has no writing credits to his name, although he is attached to upcoming projects, ‘Mortal Kombat’, hurricane disaster movie ‘Category 6’ and a reboot of ‘Resident Evil’.

It’s unknown whether or not Wingard will return.  He is preparing to film ‘Godzilla Vs. Kong’. It also remains to be seen which members of the original cast will return.  The first movie ended on a series of cliffhangers, as Nat Wolff’s character Light had been found out by his father, while his nemesis L (Stanfield) had discovered a page from the Death Note notebook.

Were you a fan of the first ‘Death Note’?  Are you excited about the idea of a sequel?