Amazon’s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series: Everything We Know

After years of no updates, Amazon’s TV adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is finally moving forward with major announcements. The long-gestating TV property is based on the novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson which kicked off the famed Millennium trilogy. The aforementioned book was adapted into the 2011 David Fincher movie, which starred Daniel Craig as reporter Mikael Blomkvist who is hired to solve a 40-year-old cold case. Noted for its moody atmosphere and neo-noir style, the film snagged several Academy Award nominations and a win for Best Film Editing.

The sequels languished in production turmoil for several years before a follow-up was released in the form of The Girl in the Spider’s Web in 2018, without the original cast. The film was considered a box-office disappointment (via Box Office Mojo), and it seemingly marked the end of the Millennium series. However, the excellent David Fincher movie still had its fans which inspired Amazon to announce that they would be producing a TV series based on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2020. That exciting announcement was followed by years of silence that has finally been broken by updates.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series Latest News

A Story Tease From The Showrunner

Months after the upcoming series tapped its showrunner, the latest news comes as a story tease for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. With the story still being kept largely under wraps, showrunner Veena Sud instead spoke candidly about the themes and tone of her upcoming adaptation, leaning heavily into the unsettling ideas that are still relevant decades after the story was first published. “Welcome to female rage” Sud hinted, referring to her handling of the imminently popular Lisbeth Salander character.

Read Sud’s full comments below:

I have a classic television show coming out for Amazon, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, another angry woman out to get the bad guys and the monsters. So, I’m really excited about that, bringing it to television after 15–20 years. It’s been kind of in the stratosphere, and there’s so much to talk about today that was relevant back then — when Stieg Larsson first published the books, the trilogy — about female rage, about abuse, about the emergence of racism, white nationalism. All of the things, 20 years later, here we are, it’s super relevant today. So far, just pursuing kind of outlier women has always been the thing I love, so I’m really excited about that.

Well, it’s a little bit under wraps right now, so I can’t reveal too much other than to say, Welcome to female rage. It’s strong, it’s powerful, and it’s going to take some s–t down in the next few years. So, I’m excited that we get to see, again, a new version of a woman who just refuses to follow the rules.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series Is Confirmed

A New Series Is In The Works

Though much is unknown, it is safe to say that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series is confirmed thanks to the newest announcements. While the three-year gap in information seemingly spelled doom for the project, the choice of a showrunner proves that Amazon is finally serious about giving Stieg Larsson’s work a new adaptation. The film itself is well over a decade old, and the long-awaited sequel was a resounding disappointment. This combination of factors gives the Amazon series a chance to rewrite the narrative regarding the intellectual property, especially with a veteran like Veena Sud in control.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series Cast Details

It Is Unlikely Previous Cast Members Will Return

The cast of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is being kept tightly under wraps. Though it is impossible to say exactly who could star, it is possible to speculate that many of the actors from the previous films won’t be making a comeback. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara didn’t reprise their roles for the 2018 sequel film, and it is highly likely they won’t be back. Additionally, the critical and commercial failure of The Girl in the Spider’s Web probably means that Claire Foy won’t reprise her role as Lisbeth Salander either.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Series Story Details

What Will Happen In The New Adaptation?

What is perhaps the most uncertain aspect of the TV show version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is its story. When the series was first announced back in 2020, it seemed as if the show wouldn’t be a direct adaptation of Larsson’s eponymous book, but a continuation of the story through the characters. Unlike shows based on books that literally adapt their source material, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo looked as if it was going to be a loose framework for which the show could pull elements without having to be tied down to the structure.

However, the recent updates have not included any information about the show’s story, and it isn’t quite clear exactly what route The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is going to take. Since Veena Sud is known for her clever adaptations of pre-existing movies and TV shows, it could be that she has been brought on to work her magic once again by making the book more digestible in series form. Or, the celebrated TV creator could also be tasked with putting her own spin on the Millennium universe without necessarily copying Larsson’s work word for word.

Based on the award-winning novel by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) as he searches for a woman who has been missing for 40 years. Along the way, he makes an unexpected ally in Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who is a computer hacker and survivor of a traumatic childhood. The film is directed by David Fincher and won an Oscar in 2012 for Best Achievement in Film Editing.

Release Date

December 21, 2011

Studio(s)

20th Century

Distributor(s)

20th Century

Writers

Steven Zaillian

Runtime

158 minutes

Franchise(s)

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Budget

$90 million

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