The Duffer Bros’ Death Note: Everything we know so far

Since its conception in 2003, the manga series Death Note includes the critically-acclaimed anime series by Madhouse, along with several film-length adaptations (such as Adam Wingard’s 2017 movie of the same name). Now Netflix is gearing up to release a new live-action adaptation with the help of Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer (a.k.a. The Duffer Bros).

Back in July 2022, the Duffers announced their next project for their production company Upside Down Pictures will be a live-action adaptation of Death Note for Netflix and have signed on Halia Abdel-Meguid (known for Doctor Who) as the lead screenwriter for the project.

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming adaptation.

What is Death Note about?

The manga series focuses on teen genius Light Yagami, the son of the detective superintendent of Japan’s National Police Agency, who discovers a mysterious notebook that once belonged to the shinigami Ryuk (a God of Death in Japanese culture), and grants the user the ability to kill anyone by writing their name in its pages. With the newfound ability to kill at will, Light Yagami takes it upon himself to kill criminals and others he deems immoral, soon earning the title of Kira (roughly translating to “killer”).

Currently, there isn’t an official Netflix synopsis for the Duffer Brothers series, but we expect that one will be released soon. Regardless, IMDb provided the following logline about the show:

"“Follow Light, a bright young man who discovers a mysterious black notebook that gives him supernatural power over life and death. A live-action version of the manga of Tsugumi Ohba.”"

Has the new Death Note cast been announced?

Unfortunately, it seems that the Duffer Brothers adaptation is still in the early days of conception, so a cast has not been attached to the series yet. But we expect that at some point this year, this will change. As soon as we have an inkling of who might be attached we will update you here.

When could the new Death Note come out?

At this time, production news on Death Note is fairly sparse. All we know at this point is that treatment for the project began in October 2022, meaning the production team began planning the script and episodes for the upcoming release.

Unfortunately, this means that as of February 2023, the highly anticipated series does not have a release date. And we believe we’re in for still quite the wait until its release. At the earliest, we foresee the series making an appearance on Netflix in 2024 or 2025, but we could be wrong! You’ll have to stay tuned for further updates.