While Shane Black was highly praised for directing Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005, he hasn’t made anything since. Indeed, even as a screenwriter – which is how he made his name, via films like Lethal Weapon and The Long Kiss Goodnight – he’s had nothing reach the silver screen. Hopefully that will change though as Deadline report that he’s signed on to direct the manga adaptation Death Note for Warner Bros. Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry are currently writing the script.
The project is based on the manga series written by Tsugumi Ôba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, which revolves around a college student named Light who finds a mysterious notebook that has the unique power to kill anyone whose name is written in it. When the student uses his newfound power to rid the streets of criminals, he is pursued by an FBI criminologist.
The manga series, which has sold over 38 million copies worldwide, has spawned a number of films and TV shows in Japan. Here’s what he had to say about the project, “It’s my favorite manga, 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.”
It’s certainly a premise with some possibilities, and Black would seem a good man try and bring those to the fore, although as yet there’s no info on when it might reach cinemas.