Back at the beginning of last month, rumours surfaced that Daniel Craig was in talks to play Mikael Blomkvist in the US version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which David Fincher is going to direct. However, what wasn't known at the time was whether FIncher and Sony were just making overtures to Craig about the role, or if he was seriously in talks to join the movie.
Now it's been revealed that it was the latter, with Deadline reporting that the Bond star has closed his deal to take the lead role in the adaptation of Stieg Larsson's book. The deal also includes options for the sequels, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest. Apparently much of the time taken over the deal was down to scheduling, with Sony needing to negotiate with Dreamworks over when he'd be finished on Cowboys & Aliens, and also with the Bond producers, who may be unable to make a new 007 film at the moment because of the MGM financial troubles, but don't want Craig to fill up his schedule for the next six years, in case they get the greenlight to go ahead.
However, with Dragon Tattoo, it puts Craig in the enviable position of already starring in one of the biggest film franchises in the world, with two more possible major film series in the works. In Dragon Tattoo he'll play journalist/investigator Mikael Blomkvist, who looks into a 40-year-old possible murder, which takes him and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander into the world of the dysfunctional, island-bound Vanger family.
At the moment, Sony is still searching for an actress to play opposite Craig, as computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. Ellen Page, Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch), Sara Snook (Sleeping Beauty), Rooney Mara (The Social Network) and Sophie Lowe (Blame) are among the candidates, but no decision has been made. Shooting in due to start in Sweden in autumn, with the film released December 2011.