Adam Wingard‘s ‘Death Note‘ is about to debut on Netflix and we’re learning about a new change in the live-action adaptation of the anime and manga. Outside of location changes, there have already been others revealed and now we’ve learned a key feature is changing. The rules of how the Death Note itself takes lives for that matter.
In the original manga the deaths were all heart attack related but in Wingard’s take, not so much:
“Our film is very much a different take on it (Death Note). The characters themselves have different backgrounds and motivations and things. Even the approach to the Death Note is very different. In the original, almost exclusively the deaths are associated with heart attacks whereas ours takes more of a Final Destination approach for the first half of the movie when it’s still kind of fun and games for Light. Obviously, as the movie goes, the consequences get real so the deaths become more realistic as well.”
The rules themselves weren’t actually changed, but a few new ones were added for the show. The one Wingard points out is actually pretty fantastic:
“Somebody actually told me today that the original films, which stick very close to the original source material, were actually contractually obligated not to change any rules. Our film, we don’t really change any rules, but we do add some rules. For instance, the rule where if you don’t use the notebook for seven days then it reverts back to Ryuk and he can do whatever he wants was one of ours. That was mainly because we wanted to make sure there was a rule in there that forced Light to have to use the Death Note regardless if he had changed his mind or if he had grown a conscience. The stakes would always be there in terms of forcing him to go forward. There’s no turning back, in other words. There were a few little rules like that that we added just to add more complexity to the situation”
While this one still gives a user of the ‘Death Note’ a choice to use it or not, the stakes are much higher if they don’t.
Are you glad this new rule was added or thinks it takes away from the spirit of the original ‘Death Note’? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Comic Book.
