Though Willem Dafoe is currently busy with preparation for DC Extended Universe's (DCEU) upcoming instalment "Justice League," which is set to premiere in 2017, he has been officially cast in the upcoming Netflix movie "Death Note" based on Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's adaptation of the popular manga series.

Dafoe will be playing the character of Ryuk the Shinigami (extra-dimensional creatures who survive by killing humans), who first dropped a Death Note that allowed a person to kill someone by recalling their name or face.

The Death Note was found by Light Yagami who used its powers to cleanse the world of evil.

Besides Dafoe, other cast members include Nat Wolff (Light Wagami), Margaret Qualley (Mia Sutton), Keith Stansfield (L), Paul Nakauchi (Watari), and Shea Whigham (James Turner).

"Death Note" is being produced by Roy Lee of "The Ring" fame, Dan Lin of "Sherlock Holmes" fame, Jason Hoffs and Masi Oka. The movie will be directed by Adam Wingard of "Blair Witch" fame and the story is being written by Jeremy Slater.

Dafoe is one of the prominent actors in Hollywood and has played several iconic characters in the movies, that include Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy and several other roles in films like "Finding Nemo," "Platoon," and "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

He will next be appearing in DCEU's upcoming "Justice League" and "Aquaman," movies in which he will be portraying the character of Atlantean Vulko. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for "Platoon."

Since its initial release in 2003, "Death Note" has developed a cult status and has been adapted into several novel adaptations, a musical and an anime series. Undoubtedly, fans have high hopes from the upcoming Netflix movie. With Dafoe on-board, they surely have their fingers crossed.

"Death Note" movie is scheduled to premiere in 2017 on Netflix. The exact release date has not yet been revealed.