Nat Wolff is staying one step ahead of the typecasting game. After striking it big in the last two John Green adaptations, The Fault In Our Stars and Paper Towns, the young actor is venturing into potentially R-rated terrain with Death Note.
The horror story is lifted from the popular Japanese manga series that ran from 2003-2006 and focuses on Light Yagami, a young man who happens across a notebook penned by the death god Ryuk. This special item allows the bearer to kill anyone they like by simply writing that person’s name within its pages while picturing their face. Realizing the immense power he has in his grasp, Light begins to use his powers for good by wiping out the scum of the Earth. Even though he’s offing baddies though, that doesn’t stop the police from sniffing around, and soon enough a cat-n-mouse chase ensues.
Following his recent appearances in The Intern and Grandma with a serious, edgier movie suggests that Wolff is more than willing to shake off his good guy image and dip into a darker type of subject matter. And who better than You’re Next director Adam Wingard to guide him through his performance, the perfect candidate to steer Death Note to the big screen following original helmer Shane Black’s departure. He’ll work from a script by Jeremy Slater when production kicks off next spring.