Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
This past weekend marked the premiere of one of Netflix’s biggest original films of the year — Adam Wingard’s Death Note. Based on the beloved manga of the same name, Death Note follows one teenager who gains the power to kill anyone he wants as long as he knows their names and faces. However, Light’s (Nat Wolff) justice-seeking rampage is interrupted when the greatest detective in the world (Lakeith Stanfield) starts to figure out who he is. Wingard’s take on the franchise is like what would happen if a pop-infused Final Destination movie met a high-stakes crime thriller.
The movie has been met with mixed reviews overall, but it’s the movie’s crazy ending that’s been gaining the most attention. The movie ends with Light in a hospital, explaining his sociopathic plans to his father while Ryuk (Willem Dafoe) laughs away. Meanwhile, L, who has lost his best friend and has been stripped of his title, finally discovers Light/Kira’s killing method. That’s when the movie cuts off — with Light hurt but free and his foe L powerless but closer to the truth than ever before.
All of this has led viewers to wonder if Netflix is prepared to make a Death Note sequel. According to an interview Wingard did with The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision, the answer is it depends.
“At the end of the day, there are a lot of places to explore where to take Light. And ultimately the series is sort of about almost his downfall as a character. This is sort of the beginning of it or the origin of it,” the director said. “There are definitely lots of places to go, and we know generally where we would take it. Hopefully people will watch it and Netflix will order a sequel. They definitely are ready to. They just need people to watch it.”
Wingard originally pitched the idea to Netflix as two or three films, which means a sequel has certainly already been discussed. “We definitely designed the film so it plays a closed loop. Sequels are never guaranteed. They have to be earned,” he said. “On some level, I really love that the movie ends with all the characters damaged. It’s such an unconventional ending for any kind of comic book film, and I really like that.”
So far, it looks like chances are good for a Death Note sequel. At the time of publication, the film has been gaining a lot of attention on Google Trends as well as on Instantwatcher, a site that tracks the titles Netflix users add to their queues. Also, Adam Wingard tweeted this shortly after Death Note’s premiere:
It looks like we’re not entirely done with Light and L’s epic face-off. And on a personal note, as long as I can watch Lakeith Stanfield creepily eat candy and outsmart the world, I’ll be happy.
