Netflix’s live-action Death Note movie gets a dark and moody first teaser

Netflix has released the first teaser for its live-action adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba’s beloved manga, Death Note, and its full of references fans will enjoy. It can be seen below.

Death Note follows a high school student, Light Yagami, who goes on a murderous spree after accidentally coming across a notebook that gives him the ability to kill whoever he wants, however he wants without getting caught. Deciding to use the power to enact vigilante justice, his actions garner the attention of Interpol and an obsessive, world renowned detective named L who will stop at nothing to figure out how the crimes are being committed and who’s behind it all.

It’s only a minute in length, but fans will notice closeups on the notebook itself falling from the sky, an apple and terms like “Justice for Kira” scattered throughout. The teaser hints at the new location the movie will take place in, Seattle, as well as demonstrating some of the deaths that will be orchestrated at the hands of the film’s main character, Light.

The one character missing from the teaser, however, is also one of the most important: Ryuk the Shinigami. In the manga, Ryuk is the bored Shinigami (a grim reaper-type character) who drops the notebook into the human realm to satiate his morbid curiosity. The teaser ends with Light looking over his shoulder in fear, presumably seeing Ryuk for the first time.

Death Note started as a manga series in December 2003 and ran until 2006. An anime adaptation of the series premiered in October 2006 and ran until June 2007. Netflix acquired the rights for the live-action adaptation from Warner Bros. last April.

Death Note will debut on Netflix on August 25.