'Death Note' Anime Becomes Netflix Movie: 'Paper Towns' Nat Wolff to Play Light Yagami!

On the heels of production start in the live-action adaptation of classic anime Ghost in the Shell, it seems another beloved Japanese animation is heading to the big screen in the Western world: Death Note. After years of studios circling the material, Netflix is now approaching the material -- with Paper Towns actor Nat Wolff attached to play Light Yagami.

The Wrap reports that the Death Note Hollywood adaptation has been in the hands of Warner Bros. for a couple of years. But following reports that the studio's making fewer films, it seems there's someone else in line to remake this material: Netflix. After Warner's mega production Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to do as well as imagined, they're stepping down from a few projects. Netflix is currently in negotiations to pick this one up.

For now, the cast members attached to the project are Wolff and The Leftovers actress Margaret Qualley in an unnamed role. It seems the studio is also keen on casting Keith Stanfield (who'll co-star in this year's Netflix Brad Pitt production War Machine) in a role, but nothing's official at this time because Netflix hasn't secured the rights for the adaptation yet.

The person helming the coming project is Adam Wingard, the filmmaker behind recent horror productions like You're Next and V/H/S. Producers are Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Masi Oka and Jason Hoffs.

"The story, set in a major metropolitan American city, centers on a student who, after discovering a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim's name, decides to cleanse the world of whom he deems evil," reads the upcoming film's synopsis, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "As the student is tracked by a reclusive police officer, a cat-and-mouse game ensues."

The Death Note manga has received praise in its native Japan, and it's been adapted into an anime series, a light novel, a series of videogames and four live-action films, the latest of which will be released this fall.