13-year-old actress Mayuko Fukuda has been cast as the heroine in Hideo Nakata's "L," the upcoming spinoff of the "Death Note" movies. She was chosen from more than 300 candidates.

Fukuda will play a young girl named Maki, whose only family is a father and a stuffed animal left by her mother. The girl happens to be the key to solving a mystery, so L (Kenichi Matsuyama) is forced to protect her.

Filming for the movie began at the start of this month in Saitama, and is expected to last about two months. On February 9, "L" will open simultaneously in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, which is a first for a Japanese film. Distribution offers from other countries have been coming in, raising the possibility of same-day releases in other countries.