Shane Black adapting Japanese manga Death Note

Death Note

Director Shane Black has jumped onto the comic adap band wagon, with news that he’s set to direct a film version of manga Death Note.

Being set up over at Warner Bros, Black will be directing from a script written by Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, who are also penning Black’s other new film Doc Savage.

“It’s my favourite manga,” the director tells Deadline of Death Note , which has already been adapted previously into anime and Japanese live-action films. “I was just struck by its unique and brilliant sensibility.

“What we want to do is take it back to that manga, and make it closer to what is so complex and truthful about the spirituality of the story, versus taking the concept and trying to copy it as an American thriller.”

Death Note the manga followed a teenager called Light Yagami, who discovers a notebook that fell to Earth and once belonged to god Ryuk.

Using the book, Light attempts to cleanse the world of evil, while possessing the ability to kill anybody whose name he writes in the book. Meanwhile, a detective known as L attempts to stop him.

Black's first and last directing gig was the criminally under-rated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang . We can't wait to see what he does with Death Note .

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.