Sony has announced plans to bring back Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist in a reboot of author Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series that began with 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Though rather than reboot the series with the sequel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, the studio will start with the fourth entry in the series, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Along with skipping the second and third installments in the series, the film won’t star Daniel Craig (Spectre) as Blomkvist nor Rooney Mara (Carol) as Salander. The studio is intent on making this project significantly cheaper than the first film’s $90 million budget, which is especially expensive for an R-rated film that rightfully earned the rating. This also means that David Fincher (Gone Girl) won’t return to direct the film. Sony is reportedly in talks with Steven Knight (Burnt) to adapt the novel that was written by David Lagercrantz who took over the series after Larsson passed away.
The Sweedish adaptation of the series took a similar approach in terms of budget. The original film had a traditional theatrical release while the two sequels were originally made into television mini-series’ and later released in theaters in the states.
It makes sense that the studio would reboot the series with the fourth entry, as the third, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, wrapped up the trilogy which focused on Salander’s past. The fourth book follows Salander and Blomkvist investigating a conspiracy that follows spies, cyber-criminals, and corrupt government officials. The plot is much more akin to that of the first film in that it’s focused on a mystery rather than the character’s mythology. The novel is also the start of a new trilogy starring the crime solving-duo.
Nothing has been released in terms of actors or a production schedule. We’ll be sure to have more information the project as it releases.