Netflix has been attempting to corner the market not just with the medium of anime, but also with live-action adaptations of some of the biggest anime franchises around, and it seems as if the streaming service is working toward revisiting the live-action world of Death Note as sequel writer Greg Russo comments on how it will be more like the manga. The first film was directed by Godzilla vs Kong director, Adam Wingard, and was met with mixed reviews among anime fans and general movie viewers alike, though it certainly was able to perfectly translate some elements of the legendary franchise.
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The first live-action Death Note movie starred Willem Dafoe as the terrifying Ryuk and Lakeith Stanfield as the mysterious L, which took more than a few departures from the story that was made famous by both the manga and the anime. It also happened to end on something of a cliffhanger, so a sequel certainly has plenty of material to dive into when it comes to the stories of Light and the magical notebook that has caused more than a few deaths.
Writer Greg Russo chatted with We Got This Covered about what he’s hoping for the sequel that is currently in the works and how his desire to “go back to the source material” will be a big part of the Death Note sequel:
“It’s funny because it sounds like a shift in genre but really, it comes down to the same things. It’s about adapting IP. It’s about bringing over an amazing piece of fan property and trying to do it right. And Death Note, I’m a huge fan of the manga, I’m a huge fan of the original source material and I think it’s one of the greatest mangas ever written. And so for me, I didn’t play any role in Death Note, the first film that Netflix did, but I came in with kind of a point of view with what I wanted to do in a sequel. And part of that is I wanted to go back to the source material. Hopefully, there will be more info on it soon, but it’s going to be… it’s not going to be exactly what you’re expecting. And I mean that in a very enticing way.”
Are you looking forward to a different approach for the sequel to Death Note’s live-action adaptation? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Netflix’s original series and films.