Willem Dafoe Is Going to Voice the Shinigami in Netflix's 'Death Note' Adaptation

This is perfect casting.

Willem Dafoe
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Willem Dafoe

Written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, Death Note has been an international manga sensation. It’s about an anti-social high school kid called Light, who is gifted a special notebook by demon. Anyone who he writes the name of in the book will die on his command, and the power soon goes to his head as he starts to bump off those who he deems unworthy, while being chased by Interpol. It’s a brilliantly dark and twisted ride, and has been spun off into anime, games and even live action movies in its native Japan. 

And now it’s coming to America. Netflix is producing the US version, and they’ve just announced some very big casting news: Willem Dafoe is going to be voicing Ryuk the Shinigami, the apple-living demon that gives Light the actual Death Note. Dafoe is an expert is playing creepy werdos, in films like Spider-Man, Platoon, Fantastic Mr Fox, American Psycho, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and loads more. We presume Ryuk will be a CGI creation, and he’s got the perfect voice to play a mysterious death demon. Hell, he even looks a bit like the Shinigami does in the manga. It is perfect casting.

Death Note is being directed by horror master Adam Wingard, and will debut in Netflix nest year.

[via Mashable]

 

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