The delay of the next James Bond movie as MGM gets its financial act together hasn't freed up star Daniel Craig's schedule so much as derailed it. He's shooting Cowboys & Aliens right now with Jon Favreau and has been trying to figure out a way to make The Girl WIth The Dragon Tattoo with David Fincher at least since early June, but it's taken until now for the powers that be to work it out. According to Deadline Hollywood Craig has finally signed his deal to star as Mikael Blomkvist with an option for two more films based on Stieg Larsson's novels, with Dragon Tattoo filming this fall in Sweden.

We've heard previously that Craig is working on his Swedish accent, and the Sweden location shoot confirms that Fincher isn't planning an Americanized take on the story, just a version of the books filmed in English but set in Sweden. The further I get into Larsson's series, which also includes The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, the more sense that makes; the small-scale murder mystery in Dragon Tattoo evolves into a large-scale exploration of corruption and espionage across the entire Swedish government. The books are defined not just by their frosty and isolated Swedish settings, but the notion that this peaceful, somewhat socialistic government could be just as vicious as your most far-fetched CIA conspiracy theories. Translating it to America would be a fantastic challenge, and would almost certainly be doomed to failure.

Craig locking in his deal means they'll be able to turn their attention to casting the other lead role, Lisbeth Salander, whom Sony chief Amy Pascal promised recently would be found after a gigantic worldwide talent search. Clearly every young actress in the world is polishing their resumes as we speak, though despite Josh's hopes, Natalie Portman told us over the weekend she hasn't been contacted. Turn your casting hopes elsewhere, Princess Amidala fans.