Write this down in your notebook: the Death Note movie is close to starting production, and it may have a new home on Netflix!

According to a report from Variety, Netflix has outbid Lionsgate and STX and reached a deal to produce and distribute the Death Note live-action adaptation. While Netflix is said to be in “final negotiations” for Death Note, the price to pick up the film was reportedly “$40 to $50 million.”

Yeah…that’s not cheap. But it does line up with Netflix’s very aggressive moves on its film production slate. It was only a few weeks ago that Netflix put $90 million towards Bright, a Max Landis scripted movie starring Will Smith. Netflix is also producing War Machine, with Brad Pitt on tap to star in it. But Death Note may be the first Netflix-produced feature film that has real franchise potential. The Death Note anime and manga series both have devoted followings in the United States and other countries around the world.

The Death Note manga was created by Tsugumi Ohba, and it followed a high school student who found a supernatural notebook that allowed him to kill anyone by writing their name in it. The manga also focused on the detective charged with discovering the truth behind the murders as they piled up.

Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley have already been signed to star in the Death Note movie, which will be directed by Adam Wingard. Assuming that the Netflix deal goes through, Death Note will start filming in June.

Are you eager to see the Death Note movie on Netflix? Let us know in the comment section below!

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HT: Variety

Image Credit: Shueisha