Back in January 2011, it was reported that Shane Black would be directing a live US version of Death Note for Warner Bros. We haven't heard much since and Black went on to direct Iron Man 3. With Iron Man 3 hitting theaters shortly, there have been some opportunities for the press to speak with Shane Black, and he confirmed that he's still interested in the project.
Via Bleeding Cool: "Right now I’ve got this thing at Warner Bros. called Death Note that I like a lot. It’s a Japanese Manga that’s very tense and really cool. And also something at Sony I’m really excited about, something that as a kid I loved. It’s Doc Savage, the old series of pulp novels and doing Doc Savage right, finding the way to get that script correct has been one of the guiding passions of my adult life. If I can get that script and make it happen in the next 90 days or so then I’d love to make that."
Iron Man 3 is sure to be a hit, so Shane Black should have a number of options available. You can tell from that quote alone that he'd take Doc Savage over Death Note, so don't get too excited about the possibility of a new Death Note movie until we have news of the project being further along.
For those unfamiliar with Death Note, it's a very popular manga, anime, and Japanese movie series in which high school student Light Yagami discovers an unusual notebook called the "Death Note". When the book's owner writes the name of the person and the way they die, it comes true shortly after. Light begins to test the book and eventually uses it in an effort to rule as a god over Earth.