Image from the Death Note 2017 IMDB page.

I have been keeping a close eye on the development of the American live action adaptation of Death Note.  For those who love anime, Death Note is a well loved and intense story.  It centers on the story of Light Yagami, a genius high school student, who stumbles across a Death Note (a shinigami or grim reaper’s notebook).  This notebook gives Light the power to kill anyone he wants so long as he has the person’s face in mind and their actual name.  Light takes his job seriously and starts taking out all the criminals to make a better world that he will be the “god” of.  It becomes very clear to the international authorities that something isn’t right, and a genius, but reclusive detective only known as “L” is determined to capture Light who has become known as Kira on the internet.  This cat and mouse game is intense and brilliant.  It is my number one anime of all time because the story and characters are so dark and their interweaving stories are so deftly told.

And it looks like the full American cast has been announced as seen on the Death Note IMDB page.  It will be directed by Adam Wingard.   Here are my thoughts on the casting choices and hopes for the live action adaptation:

Light Yagami

Light Yagami from the anime and manga.

Light Yagami will be played by Nat Wolff known mostly for his roles in Paper Towns and A Fault in Our Stars.  He will be taking on the name Light Turner in the adaptation.  The name change is to be expected in an American adaptation.

Nat Wolff portraying Light Turner in the Death Note American adaptation.

What I am worried about is how well this actor can pull off one of the most maniacal characters I have ever come across.  Light’s character arc and his development into a villain are some of the best bits of storytelling I have come across.  His character is not someone that can be taken on easily or lightly.  Nat Wolff has been in quite a bit of things lately, but none has been this dark.  Most are family friendly and coming of age teen sort of shows and movies, and that has me a bit worried.  Now I hate judging a production before I see it.  Maybe he may surprise me, and really pull off a good Light.  His performance will be critical on how well this adaptation will go as Light’s story is the epicenter of everything, and Light’s devolution into a villain is spectacular.  Hopefully Nat Wolff will prove me wrong.

Misa Amane

Misa Amane or known in the American adaptation as Mia Sutton will be played by Margaret Qualley. Now she looks like a good Misa in my opinion.  Misa’s character is not as critical, acting wise, as Light’s, but we still need a good Misa.  She is Light’s ultimate tool that he uses as she is the second Kira.  She has to be able to pull off a person who is seemingly girly and cute, but can be lethal and crazy.  Margaret Qualley has starred in Palo Alto and the television show called The Leftovers.  I guess I will have to see if she can pull off Misa.

L

L has always been my favorite character mainly because he is so intelligent and eccentric.  His awkward and strange habits has made his character iconic in the anime world.  People love L and they love him because of his quirkiness.  That is what makes his character so hard to perform and cast.

Classic L pose.

Now I have to say I am not overly pleased with who they chose for L in the American adaptation.  L will be played by Keith Stanfield.

What I don’t really like is that Keith Stanfield looks a little too well put together and dapper.  L is not a smooth talker or put together.  He is socially awkward, reclusive and eccentric to the extreme.  He is not your typical genius detective which is what made Death Note so much more interesting and well loved.  L has a quirky and almost innocent charm to him, but he also has a strange way of doing things and how he sees the world.

Keith has been in movies such as Selma, Straight Outta Compton and the Purge: Anarchy.  Now these movies are definitely darker movies as Death Note should be, but I still have my doubts that he will be able to pull off such a strange character.  Still, I will try and be fair and give him a chance as I have been pleasantly surprised by actors and actresses before.  And I will add that Keith has won several awards for his role in Selma.  L is a character that I will be especially critical on, as most Death Note fans will be, because I love this character so much.  I guess I will have to wait for the movie to make a final judgment on whether this was a good choice of casting or not.  This is one of the times I really hope this actor makes me eat my own words as I really want to see a good L in this adaptation.

Ryuk

Ryuk is always a very interesting character to the story, and I absolutely love his character design.  Even though his character kicks the story off by dropping his notebook to earth, Ryuk plays a curiously down played role in the story.  He is content with watching instead of acting, and he has an almost “don’t give a damn” attitude which you grow to love.  There are times when he tries to get Light to do something or will help Light out, but he generally plays the role of a watcher versus an active participant.  Now this casting decision I really love.  Ryuk will be voiced by Willem Dafoe.  I can’t wait to see what a brilliant actor like Willem Dafoe will do with this role.

Willem Dafoe.

Soichiro Yagami

Now I actually like the casting choice for Light’s father.  Soichiro Yagami has been renamed to James Turner and will be played by Shea Whigham.  Shea Whigham has a more grizzled and stoic look to him.  He also has been in some pretty big productions like Star Trek Beyond, Agent Carter, and Boardwalk Empire.  I am interested to see what he will do with a character like Light’s father.

Shea Whigham

For the rest of the casting, check out the Death Note IMDB page.

Now as for plot line, I can’t really tell what they will keep or get rid of.  I hope they don’t make it a story of how the Death Note corrupted a good soul and turned Light bad.  This is not the heart of the story.  The story focuses on the development of a villain.  The Death Note is only a tool, and it only brings out the darkness that is already in Light Yagami.  With his intelligence and the almighty power of the Death Note, it brings his megalomania to the forefront.  This devolution of his character is what made the story so intriguing and interesting to watch.

I also liked the Raye Penber arc, and I hope they keep it.  There is a Agent Young which I assume is Raye Penber, but I don’t see anyone listed for his fiancee.  What happens to her in the anime after what happens to Raye is heartbreaking.  In fact, it was at this point in the story where I really started to hate Light.  I also don’t see a Rem listed as that is Misa’s Shinigami who follows her around.  Are they even going to do the second Kira arc?  They have to do it, or else Misa’s role becomes pretty boring and typical.

And let’s not forget that there has been several decent Japanese live action adaptations of Death Note from the movie in 2006 to a more recent television drama.  These will be contenders to top.

Japanese Death Note movie 2006.

Although it seems like I am heaping a lot of early criticism on this movie adaptation, I am still interested to see how they adapt it.  I do like some of the casting choices while others I am not so thrilled with.  I guess I will have to wait for more pictures or information for this movie to make a fairer assessment of this adaptation.