Something more about THE GIRL (WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO)…

Swedish author Stieg Larsson passed away in 2004 and never learned quite how popular his novels (all published posthumously) would become. The first of a trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, began the story of Lisbeth Salander, a punk hacker who helps investigative journalist (and co-owner of the magazine Millennium ) Mikael Blomkvist uncover a huge conspiracy linked to the disappearance of a girl from a wealthy family 40 years earlier. The next two novels, continuing the story, were called The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.

In 2009, the books were adapted for the Swedish cinema screen, with Noomi Rapace playing Salander and Michael Nyqvist playing Blomkvist. The films were released in February, September and November respectively and then expanded out to make a six-part television series called Millennium.  The first film received a US release early in 2010.

In 2011, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo got a Hollywood remake from director David Fincher with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig in the main roles. It received a mixed reaction, though a semi-sequel The Girl in the Spider’s Web (starring Claire Foy as Salander) was released in 2018 but failed to recoup its failed to recover its production budget.

In early 2020, it was announced that Amazon Studios and Left Bank Pictures (in association with Sony Pictures TV) were working on a project featuring Lisbeth Salander though early reports suggested it would not be directly based on previous material. for a retelling of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Delays occurred (likely including the COVID pandemic). By 2023 it was announced that the proposed series would have Veena Sud as its showrunner. Sud had some experience in adaptations, developing The Killing (based on the Danish series Forbrydelsen) with received both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Variety suggested that earlier ideas of a ‘new’ story were no longer firm.

Move forward another three years and early in 2026, Variety broke the story that Steve Lightfoot (Spider-Noir, Behind Her Eyes, Hannibal) and Angela LaManna (The Haunting Of Bly Manor, Behind Her Eyes) would be writing and executive producing an eight-episode, now as a Sky Original with Left Bank Pictures still producing. It was due to start filming in Lithuania in the spring.

Days later a legal dispute emerged between Banijay (who owned Yellow Bird who produced the original Millennium trilogy of movies) and SONY with Banijay claiming that the rights had reverted back to them after The Girl in the Spider’s Web release. It is not clear when or if this was fully resolved.

But now… we know who some of the stars will be.  David Oyelowo (Spooks, Silo, Selma) will play Blomkvist alongside Viola Prettejohn (The Crown, The Testament of Ann Lee, The Nevers) as Salander and it will retell the events of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, giving them a contemporary feel. Reinaldo Marcus Green also came on board as lead director and an executive producer.

“Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are two of modern fiction’s most iconic and compelling characters, and we’re thrilled to have Viola and David bringing them to life for a new generation,” Meghan Lyvers, managing director of scripted originals at SKY, said in a press release “Our brilliant writing team, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s bold vision and our fantastic partners at Left Bank Pictures are creating a series that honors everything audiences love about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, while taking its characters, mystery and themes into a world that feels unmistakably of the moment. We can’t wait for audiences to experience it.”

More information about the series is likely to be released during a presentation at the industry’s Mipcom event  in October.