It has always been hard casting an actor to be someone from the pages of a comicbook, especially if they are going to be a demon wearing glam rock clothing. The director of the live-action manga Adam Wingard revealed that he had previously wanted David Bowie or Prince to play the role of the demon Ryuk before they had both passed away.
"Well, as a matter of fact, David Bowie was actually originally who I wanted to [be the voice of] Ryuk—but then David Bowie died.” He continued, “And then the second person on my list was Prince, weirdly enough—and then he died. And I was like, we got to stop, we’re literally killing them off. Which is really morbid, but it was true.”
The director detailed his initial motivations after describing the character by saying “there’s not a ton of precedent in American live-action films [for] a demon wearing glam rock clothing and leather pants and stuff.”
Bowie always had a reputation for playing the most bizarre characters, ranging from the Goblin King in Labyrinth to Philip Jeffries in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. The role ultimately went to Willem Defoe, an actor capable of portraying a variety of creepy and eccentric characters in his own way.
Here is the clip for the live-action adaptation where Light meets Ryuk for the first time in! Then down below we have the anime version where Light meets Ryuk, let us know what you think of the live-action version and if it does live up to its hype! Death Note is available to stream on Netflix right now!
Death Note Synopsis:
What if you had the power to decide who lives and who dies? We suggest you obey the rules. Based on the famous Japanese manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note follows a high school student who comes across a supernatural notebook, realizing it holds within it a great power; if the owner inscribes someone's name into it while picturing their face, he or she will die. Intoxicated with his new godlike abilities, the young man begins to kill those he deems unworthy of life.