Death Note: Light Up The New World Movie Clip Released

Next week, Japanese fans will see finally see Death Note: Light Up The NEW World hit theaters. The anticipated live-action film will be the fourth film in the Death Note franchise, and it will follow a batch of new characters who closely mirror past characters like Light and L. And, now, Nikkatsu has released new footage of the film that links one of its protagonist straight back to Kira.

The footage shows Yūki Shien speaking with Ryuk, a shinigami who is attached to a Death Note. In the video, the death god notices several gnarly scars on Yūki's back. The latter tells Ryuk he got the scars when a man killed his entire family years ago, leaving Yūki as the only survivor. The ordeal happened 10 years ago, and Yūki was determined to seek vengeance against the murderer for what he had done. However, Kira beat Yūki to it when he killed the murderer during his Death Note reign. The scene then ends with Yūki turning to Ryuk and telling the shinigami that Kira is nothing short of a god to him.

The upcoming movie is a direct sequel to Death Note 2: The Last Name and is set ten years after the film's events. Viewers are introduced to several new characters such as the leads, Yūki Shien and Ryūzaki. Each are said to have inherited the DNA of Light and L, so the two take on their mentor's crusades and embark on a deadly game of cat-and-mouse when the world is flooded with Death Notes. However, other note seekers and shinigamis are slate to impede the rivals as they clash in an increasingly chaotic world.

Directed by Shinsuke Sato, Death Note: Light Up The NEW World will also see Tatsuya Fujiwara and Kenichi Matsuyama reprise their roles as Light and L. It's been nearly eight years since either have suited up as the beloved characters, and fans are eager to see their return. The actors first played the characters back in 2006 when the first live-action Death Note film premiered in Japan to great success. They reprised their roles the same year for a sequel, and Matsuyama also returned as L in a spin-off film titled L: Change the World.

The new film, which is being marketed as a "forbidden sequel" to the earlier Death Note films, will explore society's greed and reliance on technology. The film will also rely heavily on the original Death Note manga since one of its plot points revolves around the "Six-Note Rule." The principal states that only six Death Notes can exist on Earth at one time thus limiting the number of Shinigami's to six too. A prequel miniseries to the film titled Death Note NEW GENERATION debuted last month and all three episodes are on Hulu now. The series gives background into the appearance of these notes and explains why hacktivists have gotten involved with the chaotic search for the journals.

If you're interesting in seeing a live-action take on Death Note, then it may be worth binging the Japanese series. The series has been well-received for the most part by fans given its suspenseful tone. The Western adaptation of the franchise won't debut until next year, but director Adam Wingard promises fans there will be plenty of nudity, swearing, and violence to reward them for their wait.

Death Note: Light Up The NEW World debuts in Japan on October 29. There's no word yet on whether the film will get a limited U.S. release.

[H/T] Anime News Network