One would think that the franchise that started with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo had its fate sealed, what with the presumptive canceling of its long lingering sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire. But time, and a new book, have re-invigorated Sony's dedication to the cause, as The Girl In The Spider's Web has not only become a going concern for the studio, but it's also on a pretty fast track to production. While we don't know everything about the film, we do have some details that are crucial to the movie becoming a reality.
So here, now, are the details that we do have for the production of The Girl In The Spider's Web. Keep in mind, some of these details may change, and as such we'll be updating this guide to reflect the evolving nature of this film. If you're really looking forward to this film, we recommend that you bookmark this page and come back as often as you like, to update your own knowledge of the project's goings on. Whenever news breaks, we'll make sure you're the first to know. Now with all of the business out of the way, let's learn some more about Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist's latest adventure.
What Is The Girl In The Spider's Web Release Date?
According to the most recent information, The Girl In The Spider's Web is set for a November 9, 2018 release date. The film is set to battle against the currently slated Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, which opens the same day and likely won't have much direct competition for viewers. Two weeks later will see the hotly anticipated potential blockbuster Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald hit theaters, and even though it's going to be a very different type of film from The Girl In The Spider's Web, the drama could see some audience drop off as people flock to the latest chapter of wizarding adventures. Wednesday, November 21 will bring Creed 2 and Ralph Breaks The Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 to the big screen, and both of those are also likely to take viewers away, so we'll just have to wait and see how the film fares against its competition.
What Is The Girl In The Spider's Web Rating?
Considering the dark material that the literary inspiration for The Girl In The Spider's Web is cut from, there's no way this film isn't getting an R. This is only further evident in the fact that Sony decided to hire Fede Alvarez, who previously directed The Evil Dead reboot and Don't Breathe for the studio. With both projects being harsh, unforgiving portraits of strong women in peril, as well as fighting their way out of it, it would be a true surprise to see this film get anything less than an R, as Alvarez is undoubtedly where he is because he can handle such material to artistic, critical, and financial success.
Is The Girl In The Spider's Web A Sequel To The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo?
Here's where things get tricky: The Girl In The Spider's Web is indeed a sequel to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. However, instead of being the second book in the series, it is the fourth book in the Millennium series, and it's written by a different author altogether. While the first three books were written by Stieg Larsson, The Girl In The Spider's Web is written by David Lagercrantz, an author personally authorized by the estate of Larsson's family. It should also be noted that all three books in Larsson's tenure have been adapted as Swedish original films, starring Noomi Rapace as Lizbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist as Mikael Blomkvist. However, despite plans to combine the last two books in the Larsson trilogy, neither book made it into production, with The Girl Who Played With Fire being the only one of the pair to be scripted.
What's The Girl In The Spider's Web About?
The plot to The Girl In The Spider's Web fits more closely to Lisbeth Salander's skill set than that of Mikael Blomqvist, but it doesn't leave him out for a second. Blomqvist's side of the story sees him focusing on an investigation of Swedish computer scientist, Frans Balder, who ditches a job in Silicon Valley to protect his autistic son. As it turns out, Balder is being watched by "The Spider Society," a criminal collective who intend to do him harm. Further drawing in Mikael is the fact that Balder has been associated with Lisbeth in some sort of technological chicanery. With Salander pissing off the NSA at the beginning of the story, there's also attention from another continent focused in the direction of the action taking place in Sweden.
Why Did They Skip The Second and Third Books?
There are a couple of reasons that Sony may have skipped the two remaining Larsson books, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. The first would be the fact that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo wasn't the runaway hit that the studio had hoped for. Perhaps with a change in author, the material in The Girl In The Spider's Web might be a better fit for an R-rated blockbuster, at least in the studio's eyes. Second, and probably more importantly, with David Lagercrantz being the current writer of the Millennium universe, he can not only advise the studio of whether or not they're following his vision closely enough, but he may also be able to help the studio shape the direction of the films, as he continues to write books in the series. The fifth book, The Girl Who Took An Eye For An Eye, hits shelves this September.
Who's Directing The Girl In The Spider's Web?
With David Fincher jettisoned alongside The Girl Who Played With Fire's chances of becoming a real film, the hunt was on for a director to follow in his footsteps. Those shoes were filled earlier this year as Fede Alvarez was announced as the director of what had now become an adaptation of The Girl In The Spider's Web. After bringing in critical raves and box office success with both The Evil Dead and Don't Breathe, Sony clearly had enough faith in the Uruguayan filmmaker to shepherd this franchise into being. Also, it helps that both of those films were centered around strong female leads, who were put through the ringer, and delivered Hell to their opposition.
When Does The Girl In The Spider's Web Start Production?
The Girl In The Spider's Web currently has a November 9, 2018 release date. With this in mind, the film went into production in January 2018, with the film shooting in various European locations, including Berlin, Germany and Stockholm, Sweden. September 2017 had been the intended start for production on The Girl In The Spider's Web, but the search for an actress to take over the role of Lisbeth Salander from Rooney Mara lasted until that very month. Rumored frontrunners for the coveted role had included Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, but those behind the production went with The Crown star Claire Foy in the end. Director Fede Alvarez and his co-writer Jay Basu are both also currently drafted to imagine a Labyrinth spin-off, and it was thought that the project could have led to delays for The Girl In The Spider's Web, but that appears to not have been the case.
Who's Writing The Girl In The Spider's Web?
When The Girl Who Played With Fire was originally on the docket, Steven Zallian was onboard to pen the next adventure of Lisbeth Salander. However, when that project was declared dead, Locke writer Steven Knight was brought on to work on the screenplay in an earlier capacity. But, it currently looks like Fede Alvarez and Jay Basu also have story credits, which may indicate the duo have revised the work that Knight previously put together. Alvarez and Basu are also teamed at Sony for a Labyrinth spin-off, though presumably this project will be the first on their plate, before getting into any other realm-y goodness.
Who's Playing Lisbeth Salander?
This had been one of the most important, and most hotly followed, questions surrounding the project, as Lisbeth Salander is a hard character to peg. A bisexual tomboy, with a thin frame, and a very Punk aesthetic, the role would require a physical transformation out of whomever decided to accept the part originated by Noomi Rapace. We mentioned earlier that Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson were in line for the part, but information had also tipped two other heavy hitting competitors for the role of the punky avenging angel of cyberspace, Lisbeth Salander. Those competitors were The Crown's Claire Foy and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's Felicity Jones. While both are pretty big deals, Foy was actually in talks for the role with Sony, with one other project trying to woo her away. That film was Universal's Neil Armstrong biopic, First Man, which currently has Damian Chazelle and Ryan Gosling in its camp.
While Foy was "entertaining an offer" on that film for a time and it looked like her taking part in First Man would derail her chances of taking on Lisbeth Salander, that turned out not to be the case. Foy was able to take part in First Man, which is in post-production as of April 2018, and still sign on to play everyone's favorite techno punk. Rooney Mara has made it clear that she was game to take on the part again, and also that she was disappointed to not have been asked back, but it sounds like Foy has really gotten into transforming for the role. She noted recently that her look for the movie will be "pared-down" compared to what we've seen in the past from the character but "like-minded" in nature, and that she's enjoying helping pick out Lisbeth's tattoos and deciding on their placement.
Who's Playing Mikael Blomqvist?
The role of Lisbeth's partner in crime / journalist on the go, Mikael Blomqvist, is an equally important subject of discussion when taking into account the production of The Girl In The Spider's Web. Originally played by Michael Nyqvist, the role of Blomqvist went to Daniel Craig in David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. But, because the production decided to part ways with both of the actors who previously played the leads for this series, we will not see Craig reprise his part in The Girl In The Spider's Web. There weren't many rumors as to who might ultimately nab the role, but early 2018 brought the news that Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason, who was most recently seen in America playing tennis legend Bjorn Borg in Borg/McEnroe, had signed on to play Blomqvist in the new film.
New Characters
Seeing as how The Girl In The Spider's Web will have Lisbeth and Blomqvist taking on a new case, you can be sure that there will be some new characters to go along with it, and several actors have already been cast to fill those new roles. Stephen Merchant (Logan, Hello Ladies) and Synnøve Macody Lund are joining the cast in unknown roles, with Lakeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Get Out) playing Alona Casales and Sylvia Hoeks (Blade Runner 2049) portraying Camilla Salander. Rounding out the casting additions we know of will be Cameron Britton as one of Lisbeth's "close associates" and Claes Bang as the main villain.
