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Netflix's Live-Action Death Note Film Casts Keith Stanfield

Enterntainment news source Variety reported on Friday that Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12, Straight Outta Compton) will co-star in Netflix's live-action Death Note film. His character's name has not yet been revealed.

Netflix acquired the project this spring after Warner Bros.' rights expired. Production will cost somewhere "in the $40 million-$50 million range," and the project is aiming to start filming this summer.

The project previously cast Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns) in the lead role. Wolff's character's name has not yet been revealed, but Variety describes him as "a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone simply by writing the victim's name." Variety also mentions that he will compete with a "reclusive police officer."

Margaret Qualley, an actress (The Leftovers) and daughter of actress Andie MacDowell, will play the female lead. Her character's name has not yet been revealed.

Adam Wingard (The Guest, You're Next) has signed on to direct the film, and Jeremy Slater (Fantastic Four) penned a recent draft of the script.

Vertigo Entertainment's Roy Lee (Dark Water, The Lake House, Shutter), Lin Pictures' Dan Lin (This Side of the Truth, Sherlock Holmes, The Lego Movie), Viz Productions' Jason Hoffs (Edge of Tomorrow), and actor Masi Oka (Heroes, Hawaii Five-0) are producers. Doug Davison (Dark Water, The Grudge, The Lake House) and Brian Witten (Dark City, American History X, Final Destination) are executive producers, and Niija Kuykendall and Nik Mavinkurve had been overseeing the project for Warner.

In Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's original 2003-2006 supernatural suspense manga, teenager Light Yagami finds a notebook with which he can put people to death by writing their names. He begins a self-anointed crusade against the criminals of the world, and a cat-and-mouse game begins with the authorities and one idiosyncratic genius detective.

In addition to the 2006 television anime adaptation and tie-in specials, Death Note also received a Japanese live-action film adaptation in 2006, with a sequel titled Death Note: The Last Name, and a spinoff titled L change the WorLd in 2008. A live-action television series adaptation premiered last July, and ended last September. A new film titled Death Note 2016, described as a "forbidden sequel" to the first live-action film, is set to open in Japan on October 29. The manga also inspired a stage musical by Broadway veterans in 2014. Viz released the manga, Japanese live-action films, anime, and other tie-in projects in North America, and Crunchyroll streamed the live-action television series.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.