The Official Death Note Poster Reveals Willem Dafoe’s Terrifying Ryuk

by | Jun 27, 2017

The upcoming American live-action film adaptation of the classic Manga/Anime series Death Note is directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest) and will star Nat Wolff (Paper Towns). Co-starring Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Paul Nakauchi and Shea Whigham. The film releases exclusively as a Netflix original on August 25, 2017. 

death note poster

Death Note is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The story follows Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook from a shinigami named Ryuk that grants its user the ability to kill anyone whose name and face they know. The series centers around Light’s subsequent attempts to create and rule a world “cleansed of evil” as “God” using the notebook, and the efforts of a detective known as L to stop him.

The official Death Note poster was revealed today over Twitter from director Adam Wingard and the official Ryuk accounts. For those that don’t know – Ryuk is the demon featured on this official key art for the Netflix original adaptation. The demon will be voiced by none other than Willem freaking Dafoe. I love the updated design, because it is definitely paying tribute to the original Ryuk, but it’s something new, something sleeker and more menacing… I’m really excited for this film – Wingard may be directing the upcoming King Kong Vs. Godzilla, but let’s get this fantastic Death Note out of the way first already!