After years of rumors regarding who, exactly, will be in a sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — or if it will happen at all — Sony Pictures have now officially confirmed their plans. As reported last fall, Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez will be staying in business with the company to direct The Girl in the Spider’s Web, which Steven Knight (Locke, Eastern Promises) adapted from David Lagercrantz, but don’t expect to see any familiar faces.
Sony has announced today that the ensemble for this follow-up will be “entirely new” and a worldwide search has commenced to take over the Lisbeth Salander role, last played by Rooney Mara and Noomi Rapace. There had previously been rumors that Alicia Vikander was circling the part, but she has long been unattached, so with this global search underway, perhaps we’ll see some new talent fill out this cast.
Production is set to kick off this September ahead of a release on October 5, 2018, so as we await casting updates, check out the press release below.
Update: The director has commented on why he’s using an all-new cast (which, according to Variety, could include either Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson).
It’s said that 50% of the director’s work is casting. If I’d just take Fincher’s (amazing) casting, I wouldn’t be doing half of my job. https://t.co/IgfkK0BimV
— Fede Alvarez (@fedalvar) March 14, 2017
CULVER CITY, Calif., March 13, 2017 — Lisbeth Salander, the cult figure and title character of the acclaimed Millennium book series created by Stieg Larsson, will return to the screen in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, a first-time adaptation of the recent global bestseller written by David Lagercrantz. Fede Alvarez, the director of 2016’s breakout thriller Don’t Breathe, will helm the project from a screenplay by Steven Knight and Fede Alvarez & Jay Basu. Scott Rudin, Søren Stærmose, Ole Søndberg, Amy Pascal, Elizabeth Cantillon, Eli Bush, and Berna Levin will produce; the executive producers are Anni Faurbye Fernandez, Line Winther Skyum Funch, Johannes Jensen, and David Fincher.
The new film will feature an entirely new cast, and the announcement marks the kickoff of a global search for an actress to portray in the iconic role of Lisbeth Salander. The production will begin principal photography in September of this year with a release date scheduled for October 5, 2018.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web will be the first in the best-selling series to be produced into an English-language film in its initial adaptation. The previous books in the series have been adapted into Swedish-language films, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a remake of the Swedish film. It became a global hit for Columbia Pictures, taking in over $230 million worldwide.
The announcement was made today at the London Book Fair during a celebration for the fifth Millennium book launch, also by Lagercrantz. Sony’s Columbia Pictures retains the rights to all future Millennium Series books.
Sanford Panitch, president of Columbia Pictures, said, “In all of contemporary literature, Lisbeth Salander is completely sui generis – probably one of the greatest female literary characters of all time in my view. Modern punk defiance personified, she is unforgettable in every incarnation, truly one of the most compelling characters we’ve seen in recent years. David Lagercrantz’s brilliant work in continuing this remarkable series honors Stieg Larsson’s masterpiece. We at Sony are so honored to be part of this series with Yellowbird, and we’re so excited to be making an original film of The Girl in the Spider’s Web. Fede Alvarez is the perfect choice to direct. Fede is an amazing director with a unique vision of the world. In particular, his talent and skill in creating psychological intensity will bring Lisbeth Salander back into popular movie culture with a roar.”
Alvarez added, “I’m hugely excited and grateful for this opportunity. Sony has become family to me and I can’t think of a more thrilling project to celebrate our relationship. Lisbeth Salander is the kind of character any director dreams of bringing to life. We’ve got a great script and now comes the most fun part – finding our Lisbeth.”
The Millennium Series is a worldwide bestseller, with the four books selling over 86 million copies since their debut.
Who is your pick to play Salander?