Shane Black Helming Magna Classic “Death Note”

Shane Black's fantastic 2005 directorial debut, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," went a long way toward relaunching Robert Downey Jr.'s career. Now he's finally ready to direct again.

Black will helm an adaptation of the bestselling magna tale "Death Note," about a kid who finds himself in possession of a notebook with the power to kill.

Here's the synopsis from the comic's official site:

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects -- and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight f his noble goal... or his life?

“It’s my favorite manga, I was just struck by its unique and brilliant sensibility,” Black told Deadline. “What we want to do is take it back to that manga, and make it closer to what is so complex and truthful about the spirituality of the story, versus taking the concept and trying to copy it as an American thriller."

Black will oversee script development with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry, the same team with who hes's working on the upcoming "Doc Savage."

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