Let's be real: people are still pretty salty about the 2017 Netflix Death Note movie. Mention it in a room full of anime purists and you’ll get hit with a collective groan. But when you look back at it now—especially with Margaret Qualley having become a massive, Emmy-nominated star—her performance as Mia Sutton is actually the most fascinating thing in that entire messy experiment.
She didn't just play a sidekick. She basically stole the "villain" card from the main character.
Margaret Qualley Death Note: Not Your Typical Misa Amane
Most fans went in expecting a live-action version of Misa Amane. You know the one: the blonde, gothic-lolita-wearing idol who is obsessively devoted to Light. Instead, we got Margaret Qualley’s Mia. She’s a cheerleader who smokes behind the bleachers and looks like she’s bored with existence until a supernatural killing book drops into her lap.
It was a total bait-and-switch.
Director Adam Wingard actually admitted that Mia wasn't really based on Misa at all. She was a remix. He took the sociopathic, cold-blooded traits of the original manga version of Light Yagami and shoved them into Mia. Meanwhile, Nat Wolff’s Light Turner became the "soft" one.
Think about that for a second.
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In the original story, Light is a genius god-complex megalomaniac. In the Netflix version, he’s kind of a whiny kid who’s in over his head. Margaret Qualley is the one who actually wants to use the book. She’s the one pushing for more bodies. Honestly, she’s more of a "Kira" than Light ever was in that movie.
Why Mia Sutton Was Actually Terrifying
There’s a scene where Light is hesitant to kill federal agents. He has these "rules" and morals he's trying to cling to. Mia? She doesn't care. She realizes that the power of the Death Note is absolute, and she wants that power for herself.
She eventually betrays Light, writing his name in the book to blackmail him into giving it up. That's cold.
- The Motive: She wasn't driven by love; she was driven by the high of being a god.
- The Performance: Qualley plays it with this unsettling, wide-eyed intensity. You can see the moment her character stops caring about Light and starts caring about the notebook.
- The Twist: Her death isn't a tragedy for the audience; it’s the result of her being outplayed by the very person she thought she was controlling.
It's a weird dynamic. Usually, in these teen-centric thrillers, the girl is the moral compass. Margaret Qualley flipped that. She made Mia the catalyst for almost every bad thing that happened in the second half of the film.
The Fate of Mia Sutton and That Ferris Wheel
If you’ve seen the movie, you know how it ends for her. It’s dramatic. It’s messy. It involves a collapsing Ferris wheel and a page of the Death Note falling into a fire just in time to save Light (sorta).
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Since it’s 2026, and we’ve seen Qualley go on to do things like Maid and The Substance, it’s wild to see her origins here. She was already showing that she could play "unhinged" really well. Some people hated the ending, calling it a "dumpster fire" of a climax because it moved so fast. It felt like the movie was running at 1.5x speed.
But even if the plot was rushing to the finish line, Qualley’s descent into bloodlust felt earned. She went from a bored teenager to a person willing to murder her boyfriend for a notebook.
Is There a Future for Margaret Qualley in Death Note 2?
There have been rumors about a sequel for years. Producer Masi Oka has gone on record saying they are "listening to the fans" after the backlash to the first one.
But here’s the problem: Mia is dead.
Unless the sequel involves some supernatural resurrection (which isn't really how the Death Note works), we probably won't see Margaret Qualley return. Plus, there's a new live-action series in development from the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things). That project is supposed to be a total reboot, staying closer to the Japanese source material.
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What We Can Learn From the Mia Sutton Experiment
Looking back, the Margaret Qualley Death Note performance is a lesson in how to deviate from source material. Did it please the fans? No. Was it an interesting character study? Surprisingly, yes.
She represented the "darkness" that Light Yagami was supposed to have. By splitting the original Light's personality into two people—the guilt-ridden Light and the power-hungry Mia—the movie tried to make the story about a toxic relationship rather than just a lone wolf with a god complex.
If you're going to rewatch it, try looking at it through that lens. Stop looking for Misa Amane. Look for the version of Light Yagami that the movie was too afraid to make its protagonist. You'll find him in Margaret Qualley.
Next Steps for Fans:
If you want to see more of this "unhinged" energy from Qualley, skip the Death Note sequels and check out her work in The Substance (2024). It's a much better showcase of her ability to handle body horror and psychological breakdowns. For those who want a "faithful" adaptation, keep an eye out for the Duffer Brothers' upcoming Netflix series, which is expected to finally ditch the Seattle setting and return to the story's roots.