Willem Dafoe is set to step into the dark side.
The Oscar-nominated actor has officially been cast to voice one of the most important roles from Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Japanese horror manga, “Death Note”. The fan-favorite character Dafoe will be playing is Ryuk the Shinigami (the Japanese translation for “god of death”).
For the uninitiated, the movie (which is based on Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s iconic manga, as well as the anime series) centres on high school student Light Turner, who stumbles upon a mysterious magical notebook (the Death Note) that holds great power. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil.
He also befriends the big creepy Shinigami death god named Ryuk. In the manga, Ryuk was the creature responsible for creating the Death Note and dropping it on Earth to see what would transpire when someone uses the book. Naturally, that’s the role Dafoe will be voicing.
The 61-year-old star will be joining a cast that includes Nat Wolff as Light Turner (aka Kira), Margaret Qualley as Mia Sutton, Keith Stanfield as L, Paul Nakauchi as Watari, and Shea Whigham as James Turner.
Known for his other voice acting films such as “Finding Nemo” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, Dafoe was also Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in the original “Spider-Man” trilogy, and is now currently filming “Justice League” as the Atlantean Vulko.
“Death Note” will debut next year on Netflix.
Sources: AV Club, Screen Rant, Movie Web.
