Netflix's Death Note Is Meant To Be A Full-On Franchise

Netflix’s Death Note is set to hit fans screens on the 25th of August, however, director Adam [...]

By Peter Tseros

Netflix's Death Note is set to hit fans screens on the 25th of August, however, director Adam Wingard is already talking about not only a sequel but an entire franchise. This may be either good news or bad news, mainly depending on how fans find the film after critics have not been flattering so far.

"When I went to Netflix, I pitched it as a multiple-film series, because really, this is the tip of the iceberg. It also still works as a closed loop. I think the movie thematically says everything it needs to say in the context of this film. But there's a lot of places to go with the characters and the background that's only hinted at here through some esoteric symbolism. It's purposely mysterious, and there are plenty of places to go with that. So I'd love to see where these characters go. Especially because everybody's so damaged by the end of the film, which is a cool place for a comic-book movie to go, and not a conventional place to end," said Wingard in an interview recently with The Verge.

The film will end in a way that could either prompt a sequel, however, it may also be left as a stand-alone film as well. The main issue here is that it will be entirely up to Netflix whether or not the film will have a sequel, as Wingard has spoken confidently about to The Verge in recent days. With critics already slamming the film, it is likely that fans may have a similar opinion, with it already being described as "a thoughtless and lazy adaptation of the acclaimed manga" by Slashfilm.

Netflix's Death Note
(Photo: Netflix)

It is incredibly difficult to create a successful live-action film based on an anime, with most adaptations being considered failures. It is hard to fit a 37-episode and 12-volume series into a two-hour film, with creating something too new, bringing out the wrath of the already large and loyal following Death Note has. However, Wingard has said that this film is meant to be the start of a franchise of films, which means he is confident that Death Note fans will love the film and want more as well.

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