Shocker: David Fincher and Rooney Mara aren’t getting together for a sequel to GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. I know. Impossible to believe.
Sarcasm aside, it’s not hard to believe that Sony doesn’t want to get out of the Lisbeth Salander business, even if their last shot was overpriced and underperforming. She’s an iconic character with brand value and increasing relevance in this era where internet security and hackery are fixtures on the news. So instead of using Fincher and Mara (and their multi-million-dollar script by Steve Zaillian) to jump into the second Millenium story, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE, they’re skipping right ahead to book four, THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB.
And Alicia Vikander is the early favorite to play Salander
As someone who found Fincher’s take inferior in every way, from the lead performance down to the pacing, to the Niels Arden Oplev version with Noomi Rapace (who seemingly got more career traction from her turn than Mara, who remains less famous than her sister), I’m stoked that Vikander might be taking a shot at the complicated heroine. She blew many of us away in this summer’s EX MACHINA, and she’s been showing her range in stuff like ANNA KARENINA, THE FIFTH ESTATE, THE SEVENTH SON, THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., and this past weekend’s BURNT. I’ve also heard great things about her co-lead opposite Michael Fassbender in Derek Cianfrance’s THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS. Instead of them trying to make her happen, like they did with Mara, she’s already happening, and having her play this instantly recognizable, widely-liked character seems like a smart way to capitalize on her newfound fame and street cred.
Plus, they’re doing a story that wasn’t already filmed with Rapace, so there’s none of the “Why are they even bothering with this?” talk that was bounding around the last time.
They don’t have a director yet, but they are locking down Steven Knight (EASTERN PROMISES, LOCKE, as well as Vikander-starrers SEVENTH SON and BURNT) for the script. I’d imagine that, without Fincher at the helm, this film will look quite different than the edgy, bleak DRAGON TATTOO, but I’d expect Vikander’s Salander to have the spunk, the dynamo look, and the Aspergers to keep it true to both the film incarnations and Stieg Larsson’s original text.
How you guys feel about Vikander-Salander? Would she have a shot of outdoing (or at least equaling) Rapace or Mara?
