Fans have waited a long time to hear when and if a sequel to 2011’sThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoois going to actually happen. Today, Sony Pictures has provided an answer. Though it’s probably not what American fans of theStieg Larssonnovel series have been waiting to hear. The studio is going to completely reboot theLisbeth Salanderfranchise. And they plan on skipping the second two novels in the series. Not only that, no one involved with the originalAmerican adaptationis returning.
Steven Knight, whoseBurntbombed at the box office this past October, is in talks to pen the sequel script forThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.Rooney Marawill not return to reprise her role as Lisbeth Salander, withEx MachinaandThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.starAlicia Vikanderpossibly being eyed for the role. The character earnedRooney Maraher first best actress Oscar nomination in 2012.Daniel Craig, who played journalistMikael Blomkvist, isn’t returning either.
The Girl Who Played with FireandThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nestare not getting American adaptations at this time, though they received movies in their native home of Sweden starringNoomi RapaceandMichael Nyqvist. This reboot will actually be based on the fourth novel in theLisbeth Salander seriestitledThe Girl in the Spider’s Web. It was the first book not written by series creatorStieg Larsson.
The Girl in the Spider’s Webbecame an instant hit when it was published this past September. It was written by David Lagercrantz, who was hired afterStieg Larssonpassed away to carry the franchise into the future.Scott Rudin, who produced the first American adaptation, will return to produce alongside Sony’sAmy Pascal, who negotiated the rights to the book as part of her exit from the studio. Elizabeth Cantillon is also producing, along with Yellow Bird, who secured the rights to the Millennium books years ago, and produced the Swedish language trilogy as well as the stateside release ofThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
The Girl in the Spider’s Webonce again follows superhacker Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist as they find themselves at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt governments. The film is currently looking for a director, asDavid Fincher, who directed the first film to the tune of $233 million worldwide, will not be back either. A true sequel toThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was originally supposed to be based on the book The Girl Who Played with Fire, was deemed to expensive for an R rated movie. Especially since the first film had a budget of $90 million.
Original starDaniel Craigwas signed for two sequels. But the actor, who can be seen playing James Bond once again in this weekend’sSpectre, wanted a pay raise. This made his return impossible, since Sony demanded thatThe Girl in the Spider’s Webbe made on a much smaller budget than the previous installment. It’s being reported that the true sequel The Girl Who Played with Fire isn’t completely dead. The studio paid a reported 7 figure deal for Steven Zaillian’s script for that particular installment. That makes it one of the most expensive screenplay adaptations to date. ButThe Girl in the Spider’s Webwill come first, with the screenplay to be written before a new Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are cast.
WhenThe Girl in the Spider’s Webwas first pitched by writer David Lagercrantz,Stieg Larsson’s longtime girlfriend Eva Gabrielsson and even some fans were very hesitant. But the book has been received well by critics since it debuted two months ago.Steven Knightearned an Oscar nomination for writing the indie drama Dirty Pretty Things in 2003. He wrote the script for this year’s fantasy thrillerSeventh Son. And he has written a draft for the sequelWorld War Z 2. At this time, Sony has not set a release date forThe Girl in the Spider’s Web.
