Japanese actor Masi Oka, known for his work in television hits “Heroes” and “Hawaii Five-O”, is producing the Hollywood live-action version of “Death Note.” Recently, Japan Today reveals that Oka will also star in the film.
The film is based on the extremely popular manga “Death Note” written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. “Death Note” tells the story of Light, a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that kills any person whose name is written on its pages. Soon the student-turned-vigilante is hunted down by a reclusive detective known as L.
There have already been five Japanese TV and film adaptations of the manga. The live-action feature “Death Note: Light Up the New World” was released October of this year and earned 2 billion yen.
The American version of “Death Note” is directed by horror film expert Adam Wingard (“You’re Next”). The cast is led by Nat Wolff (“Paper Towns”) as Light and Keith Stanfield (“Straight Outta Compton”) as L. Margaret Qualley (“The Nice Guys”) plays Mia, while Paul Nakauchi (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”) takes on the role of Watari. Two-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (“Platoon”) lends his voice for Ryuk. Oka is the first Japanese actor to be included in the ensemble. No word yet on what role Oka will take on.
The Hollywood adaptation will be released on the popular streaming site Netflix in 2017.