"Paper Towns" star Nat Wolff is in final talks for the lead role in Warner Bros.' adaptation of the blockbuster manga "Death Note," Variety reports.

Although the name of the character will undoubtedly be changed, he'll play a version of Light Yagami, the genius high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook that gives the owner the power to kill someone simply by writing their name within its pages. Light sets out to cleanse the world of evil, which puts him on a collision course with the enigmatic detective L.

Created by in 2003 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, "Death Note" became a worldwide phenomenon, inspiring a hit anime series, three live-action films in Japan and a live-action television series; another film is in development. Ending in 2006, the 13-volume manga has more than 30 million copies in circulation.

Adam Wingard ("The Guest," "You're Next") is on board to direct the Warner Bros. film, following the departure of Shane Black. Jeremy Slater (“Fantastic Four”) wrote the latest draft of the screenplay.

Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka are producing the adaptation, which is expected to begin production next spring.