For those who haven’t yet been informed, Warner Bros. has the rights to make a live-action film based on Death Note, a popular manga that I’m going to assume most people on this forum already know about. If not, look it up or something, because I’m not giving a plot summary here.

Earlier this year, news broke that Shane Black would be directing it. For those not familiar with him (and I had to go look him up myself), he’s known to be a very competent film director. On top of that, he’s actually a fan of the manga itself, which is a very good sign. When people in charge of making a movie don’t care about the source material, things generally end up for the worse… like Dragonball: Evolution.

What he has had to say about making a film based on it is very encouraging, as he wants to be as faithful to the manga as possible, as opposed to making it a typical American thriller.

I’ve said this more than once, but I think if there’s any anime or manga that has potential to be a film that would receive critical praise, Death Note is it. The fact that it has such a deep plot would likely make it more appealing than, say, a summer action movie based on Gundam, or something to that effect. Obviously, my hopes are very high for this, and I’ll probably be one of the first in the theater whenever this film’s released.

Here’s a link to the article on Deadline.

Also, that rumor about Zac Effron playing Light Yagami? Throw it out of your mind right now. There’s nothing hinting to that, and people likely made it up because they happen to resemble each other. While I do think that in terms of physical appearance he could fit the role, I just don’t think he’s a serious enough actor for the role.

Honestly, I think that they’re probably going to Americanize the story a little bit, like having it be set in, say, New York City as opposed to Tokyo. (My memory’s a little fuzzy, but I think that’s where Death Note was set… somewhere in Kanto at the least…) Honestly, though, I don’t think that’s a bad thing; it’s just something that would probably be done in order to get it to appeal to a wider audience. It would also explain why the characters are speaking English in the movie as opposed to Japanese if it were simply set in America.

Other than that, I don’t see any significant changes in characterization or anything of the sort. However, I do expect that it will probably end with one movie, unlike the Japanese films, which spanned a trilogy. While you can’t necessarily cram all of Death Note into a single film, you really don’t need to in order to make a solid movie based upon it.

So, are you looking forward to this? Concerned about this? Or somewhere in between? Post your reactions here.

i have a feeling that this will turn out like The last Airbender and Dragon ball Evolution, but eh i guess it could be good

This....But who knows maybe it will be good

If any Anime has a chance death note would be it. I think it will do better because special animations wont be needed for flying ki beams ECT.

Just some gothic makeup for some Shinigami and some good acting

I am looking forward to this, as I didnt really like the Japanese movies of deathnote. Deathnote is one of my favourite anime series, and as Jaxill said that this doesnt require and huge special effects or what not, all it needs is the support and it will do fine.

Interesting, I may just check this out. Hopefully it'll be good. o.o

All signs thus far point to the exact opposite happening. I'll probably reserve more judgement for when we get information on the cast.


I'd argue, ki attacks and flying could look good on the big screen -- if done right. When someone says that something would look absolutely absurd on the big screen, I'd just like to point out how amazing Transformers looked. With the right style and special effects, even something as absurd as that can look great. Dragonball: Evolution's special effects weren't anything special, though.


Good acting is really the only thing it seriously needs. If they decided to do the film without any Shinigami, I wouldn't mind... but I feel like Ryuk is much needed comic relief in an otherwise intense series. And the ending... But I'd much rather Ryuk in this film be human actors with a bit of CGI thrown in to make it look like he's flying or walking through walls, as opposed to the full CGI used in the Japanese films. I think it would be more difficult to render Rem or even Sidoh without it, though.

i kinda hope its a new story same plot. same kind of theme to it but not based on L and light like new characters 40 years later.

I doubt it will be rated R therefore it will inevitably be a watered down disgrace to the real thing

didnt think of that. i can see them shooting for PG 13. But honestly how much will that really effect? how often did L or Light curse? only partial nudity from Misa. Nothing Pg 13 cant handle.

Now the deaths were not really graphic except when Kira was experimenting and even then blood messages car accidents suicide. All stuff ive seen in horror movies that were not rated R