Willem Dafoe joins Adam Wingard’s Death Note as Ryuk

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Adam Wingard’s live-action adaptation of the popular manga DEATH NOTE has just added a famous face: Willem Dafoe. Only thing is, we may not see his face in the movie.

According to Mashable, Dafoe will be providing the voice of Ryuk the Shinigami in the film, which also stars Nat Woolf, Margaret Qualley, Keith Stanfield, Paul Nakauchi and Shea Whigham. Who is Ryuk, you ask? (I know I had to ask.) Here’s the Death Note Wiki page’s somewhat baffling description:

Ryuk is a Shinigami who indirectly gives Light Yagami a Death Note. Ryuk was bored with the activities (or lack thereof) of the Shinigami Realm. In an effort to amuse himself, he decides to steal a second Death Note and drop it into the Human World for someone to find. This Death Note is eventually discovered by Light, who uses it in an attempt to rid the world of evil and injustice, satisfying Ryuk’s need for entertainment.

Basically, Ryuk is the mischievous catalyst for the quandary the lead character finds himself in. Woolf will play the young man who discovers a book that can kill anyone if you simply put their name in it.

Netflix will release DEATH NOTE in 2017.