It seems that there are references to Death Note popping up everywhere just now.

Part of the reason is that the first live-action film was shown in theatres (in the U.S. but not, apparently, in Canada?) on May 21 and 22, and more than 65,000 people saw it in total. The film, which was made in Japanese with Japanese actors, was dubbed in English by the same voice actors who do the anime series showing on Adult Swim in the U.S. and YTV in Canada.

That film will be distributed on DVD starting September 16 of this year, and VIZ pictures are now considering the release of the second live-action film, Death Note: The Last Name, after the DVD comes out.

But that's just the beginning. Or rather, it's the middle. Because the Death Note manga series has sold over 800,000 copies in the U.S., and seems to be doing proportionately well in Canada too. (E.g. as of February 7, seven of the volumes of the manga were in the list of the top 50 comics and graphic novels in Canada.) A spinoff novel, Death Note: Another Note, is doing extremely well on the charts of science fiction novels, and the available volumes of the DVD have sold 200,000 copies while the show as a whole regularly places in the list of the top five anime series.

There's even been a licensing deal, announced just last month between VIZ and The Northwest Company (a home decor manufacturer) to sell Death Note pillows and throw rugs. Talk about diversifying!

Then there was yet a third Japanese spinoff film, L Change the World, centering only around the L character. The film was released in Japan in February.

And now we're getting hints that Hollywood, too, is getting into the act. It seems that the production notes for two recent horror films (Shutter and The Strangers) suggest that Vertigo Entertainment may be planning to develop another Death Note film, choosing Vlas and Charles Parlapanides to write the screenplay.

Fans on various forums have mixed feelings about this possibility. Some fear that the American film company may try to turn the story into a mere horror film -- "mere" in this case simply meaning that the real Death Note story is considerably more than that, if it's even a horror story at all. The fans who dislike the idea of a Hollywood version are most anxious that the real nature of Death Note -- a stunningly complex mind game like an intricate chess match -- may be missed or swept aside altogether.

Whatever the case, there seem to be new developments swirling around this story every week. We'll see if Vertigo makes its plans more definite in the near future.