Warner Brothers has signed Shane Black to direct “Death Note,” based on the Japanese manga series with Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Brian Witten.
Studio confirmed Black’s attachment Thursday along with Anthony Bagarozzi and Chuck Mondry signing to pen the adaptation.
Black in late ’80s and early ’90s was high paid writter for such screenplays as “Lethal Weapon” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” but has moved into directing in recent years. He made his power chair debut with the “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” in 2005, which was Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback movie.
“Death Note” centers on a college student who accidentally finds a misplaced death note, which gives him the power to kill by writing anyone’s name while picturing the person in his mind. Warner Brosther Pictures Japan made three Japanese-language “Death Note” films.