Netflix is in final negotiations to pick up Adam Wingard‘s “Death Note,” continuing to bolster its feature film slate.
The pic stars “Paper Towns” actor Nat Wolff and Margaret Qualley and was originally at Warner Bros. before being put into turnaround at the studio.
STX and Lionsgate were among the other studios looking at the property, but Netflix is poised to come out on top with a June start date being eyed for production. While the deal is not expected to reach the same price levels as those for “War Machine” or “Bright,” the price should fall in the $40 million-$50 million range.
Based on the Japanese Manga series, Wolff plays a student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone simply by writing the victim’s name. A cat-and-mouse game ensues when he’s tracked by a reclusive police officer.
Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka are producing the project, which was previously adapted as a movie in its home country of Japan, where it spawned a sequel.
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Jeremy Slater (“Fantastic Four”) wrote a recent draft of the script. Shane Black was previously attached to direct.
Doug Davison and Brian Witten are exec producing.
While Netflix has become one of the more active buyers in the festival circuits, the studio is now beginning to ramp up its production slates with films like Brad Pitt’s “War Machine” and “Bright,” which stars Will Smith and was acquired by the streaming service for more than $90 million.
Wingard is repped by CAA, Jeremy Platt at Plattform and attorney Todd Rubenstein at Barnes Morris.
