David Oyelowo and Viola Prettejohn have been cast as Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander in Sky’s upcoming TV adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The eight-part series is being produced by Sony Pictures Television and Left Bank Pictures, and will bring the story into the present day.
Oyelowo, whose credits include Silo and Lawmen: Bass Reeves, will play journalist Mikael Blomkvist, while Prettejohn, who played the young Princess Elizabeth in The Crown, will take on the role of hacker Lisbeth Salander. Prettejohn was specifically cast in The Crown because of her resemblance to Claire Foy, who played Queen Elizabeth in the show’s first two seasons. Foy played Lisbeth Salander in 2018’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web, making Prettejohn’s casting an interesting connection between the Dragon Tattoo franchise and The Crown.
Oyelowo is also executive producing the series.
The casting comes about 15 years after David Fincher’s English-language The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which starred Rooney Mara as Salander and Daniel Craig as Blomkvist. The story was previously adapted into a Swedish film starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist.
What is The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo TV series about?
The Sky series will bring Larsson’s first Millennium novel into the present day while expanding the story beyond the previous film adaptations. The series follows Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist, and Salander, an uncompromising hacker, as they investigate the disappearance of Harriet Vanger. Harriet vanished more than three decades earlier from the secluded island home of one of Sweden’s most powerful industrial families. As Blomkvist and Salander dig deeper into the Vanger family’s buried past, their investigation brings them closer to a chilling threat that is unfolding in the present.
Deadline reports that more casting is on the way, with the TV adaptation expected to include the wider Vanger family and explore the family in greater depth than the previous movies.
Amanda Coe, Steve Lightfoot, and Angela LaManna wrote and executive produce the series. Reinaldo Marcus Green is directing and executive producing, with Andrea Harkin and Amy Neil also directing. Filming is scheduled to begin in Lithuania next month.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo‘s long road to TV
This Sky series has been in development for several years. Amazon was previously developing a Girl with the Dragon Tattoo TV series, with the intention of taking Lisbeth Salander into the present day with a new setting, new characters, and a new story rather than directly adapting one of Larsson’s books.
The project eventually moved from Amazon to Sky. Sky announced earlier this year that it was moving forward with an eight-part series that would be a contemporary reimagining of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, while remaining grounded in the characters and investigative DNA of Larsson’s Millennium novels. Left Bank Pictures, which also produced The Crown and Dept. Q, is behind the project.
Sky scripted originals boss Meghan Lyvers said:
“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.”
Left Bank boss Charlotte Moore added:
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an iconic story with themes of power, corruption, justice and violence against women that feel even more timely today. In Viola Prettejohn and David Oyelowo, we have two extraordinary actors at the heart of this adaptation and really look forward to audiences enjoying their take on these compelling and complex characters.”
Sony Pictures Television, which owns Left Bank Pictures, is handling international sales and will bring the series to MIPCOM next month while seeking a U.S. buyer. The series is being produced in association with Banijay-owned Jarowskij/Yellow Bird. A rights dispute involving Banijay and Sony was reportedly resolved amicably. Scott Rudin and Amy Pascal, who produced Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, are also executive producing the TV series alongside Charlotte Moore, John Phillips, and Sam Hoyle.
There is currently no announced premiere date for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. What do you think of the concept being turned into a TV series with David Oyelowo and Viola Prettejohn in the lead roles? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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