With just one season remaining for the hit horror thriller Stranger Things, series creators Matt and Ross Duffer are going to soon have a bit more time on their hands to explore other projects. One of these projects will be a live-action television adaptation of the popular Japanese manga and anime series Death Note.
Netflix officially confirmed the project through a social media post announcing the formation of Upside Down Pictures, a new production company in which the Duffer Brothers will "develop film and television projects as part of their overall deal with Netflix."
Death Note is an incredibly popular Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba. It follows Light Yagami, a teen genius who discovers a mysterious notebook, the "Death Note", which grants the user the supernatural ability to kill anyone whose name is written in its pages. When he discovers these powers, he begins to use the Death Note to kill anyone he deems unworthy of life.
This would be Netflix's second adaptation of the Japanese manga. In 2017, the streaming giant released a live-action Death Note movie directed by Adam Wingard. The film starred Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, and Willem Dafoe.
The adaptation was met with largely negative reviews. It sits at just a 37% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 23% audience score. The critics consensus for the movie reads: "Death Note benefits from director Adam Wingard's distinctive eye and a talented cast, but they aren't enough to overcome a fatally overcrowded canvas."
We don't have details on the Duffer Brothers' adaptation of Death Note, but hopefully, it lives up to the source material. The Duffer Brothers are developing multiple projects through their Upside Down Pictures, including an original series from creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, a series adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman (to be created by Curtis Gwinn), a new stage play set within the world and mythology of Stranger Things, and a live-action Stranger Things spin-off series based on an original idea from the Duffer Brothers.
With all of these projects in the works, it's unclear when production will begin on the live-action adaptation of Death Note.
In the meantime, you can catch the latest season of Stranger Things on Netflix. The final two episodes of the massive fourth season were just released earlier this month, wrapping up another crazy season.