"Death Note", a big-screen adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's popular manga, has got a new director. According to Tracking Board, Gus Van Sant ("Good Will Hunting", "Milk") is tapped to sit behind the lens for the Hollywood version of the Japanese comic.

The project has been in development hell at Warner Bros. since 2009. Shane Black ("Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", "Iron Man 3") was once attached to helm the upcoming flick, but he eventually left due to creative differences regarding Light's mission and the use of shinigami.

Rumor has it, Black opposed WB's plan to change Yagami's background story into one of vengeance instead of justice and to remove shinigami. The latest draft of script was written by Black along with Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry.

The story of the manga series centers on a high school student who despises crime and corruption. When he discovers a supernatural notebook through which he could kill a person simply by writing down the person's name, he uses it to clean the world from criminals.