The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sequels are still go, says Sony

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

It has made approximately $72 million worldwide in a little over ten days, but David Fincher’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is currently seen as a disappointment. Perhaps it’s the fact that the book series it’s based on, Stieg Larsson’s “Millennium Trilogy”, which features the unique and beloved character of Lisbeth Salander, has sold somewhere in the area of 40 million copies worldwide – a figure you’d assume would translate into easy money for an A-list Hollywood adaptation made by a top-notch director and starring James Bond himself. Alas, the film is only doing “respectable” business, and that can easily be construed as “box office flop” in Hollywood.

However, Sony is not about to pull the plug on their grand scheme to bring Larsson’s entire trilogy to the big screen. Entertainment Weekly reached out to a Sony representative about the future of the Millennium trilogy, and received word that “development continues” on the sequel, THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE. Apparently, DRAGON TATTOO scribe Steven Zaillian is plugging away on the screenplay as we speak. (Back in mid-December, before the first film came out, Fincher remarked that the two presumed sequels would likely shoot back-to-back when they were given the go-ahead.)

Of course Sony would say this; the studio isn’t about to jump to conclusions after their movie has been out less than two weeks. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO has an excellent shot at surpassing the all-important $100 million domestic mark within the month (word of mouth appears to be pretty good), and DVD/Blu-ray sales are certain to be plentiful.

Still, at a time when the studios are being very cost conscious and wary about the flicks they greenlight, there’s always the outside chance that THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE will not be seen as the safe bet it once might have been.