Manga Movie News: 3rd Death Note Film Arrives in U.S. in April

Just as the two manga movies that preceded it, L, Change the WorLd, the third installment in the Death Note movie series will make its U.S. big screen debut in theaters coast-to-coast on a special two night-stand. L, Change the WorLd will be shown at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, April 29 and Thursday, April 30, 2009.

VIZ Pictures is teaming up with NCM Fathom to present two versions of this Japanese feature film. The subtitled version will be shown on April 29 and the dubbed version will be shown on April 30. Both showings are scheduled at over 400 theaters nationwide. Will it be screened near your hometown? Find a theater near you on Fathom's website. You can also view the trailer to get a hint of what's in store.

Shonen Jump magazine e-mail newsletter subscribers will get first crack at tickets to these showings beginning on March 20, with the rest of the tickets made available to everyone else on March 23. You can sign up for the Shonen Jump news blast to get the scoop on this and other SJ events.

You might be asking yourself, "Another Death Note movie? Wasn't the entire story told in the first two films, Death Note and Death Note: The Last Name?" Ah... well, kinda. L, Change the WorLd takes place in a period sometime after eccentric super-sleuth L takes on the Kira case, and sometime before the events that take place in Death Note II. If you haven't read the Death Note manga series yet, this description of L, Change the WorLd from VIZ Pictures includes a major spoiler -- so read on at your own risk.

Death Note: L, change the WorLd introduces the unwritten chapter of Death Note and reveals how the legendary detective "L" (Kenichi Matsuyama) spends the final 23 days of his life. The story begins as L takes on the “Kira” case, in which countless criminals are dying under mysterious circumstances. L successfully solves the case and stops Kira, but only after sacrificing his life, leaving himself with only 23 days left to live.

For his final case L faces down a bio-terrorist group trying to wipe out humanity with a deadly virus ten times more potent than Ebola. As L tries to formulate an antidote with a scientist, he must also save the lives of two children who have no one else to turn to. Death Note: L, Change the WorLd features what happened before and after the two earlier Death Note movies and shows a more human side of L that was not be seen previously.

Death Note: L, Change the WorLd was directed by Hideo Nakata, who also directed The Ring 2. Kenichi Matsuyama reprises his role as L in this film, and gets to show his stuff without too many appearances by Light Yagami or even Ryuk to get in the way.

And this isn't the last Death Note movie coming our way. As announced at New York Comic-Con, Death Note Relight: Visions of a God is a feature-length anime that re-tells the Death Note story from shinigami Ryuk's point of view. Look for this one to be released in June 2009.

Still can't get enough Death Note? Visit the official VIZ Media Death Note website for more about the manga and anime. Check out the Death Note movie gallery, featuring scenes from the first two films. Also, see how MTV is getting on the Asian pop culture tip with their Death Note movie page on their new site, MTV IGGY.

Image credit: © 2008 "L" Film Partners, ©2008 "L" Plot Produce