David Fincher has signed on to helm an English-speaking adaptation of Swedish crime mystery The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo .
Despite reports that the director was lining up Bobby Fischer biopic Pawn Sacrifice as his next gig, The Playlist report that he was never actually attached to direct.
Which means he was free to sign up to Dragon Tattoo . The Swedish version of the film, adapted from Stieg Larsson’s novel, was released here in the UK earlier this month.
The film, which was released in Sweden under its original title of Men Who Hate Women , tells the story of Mikael, a journalist who is hired to investigate the disappearance of a young girl 40 years previously.
Meanwhile, a Goth hacker by the name of Lisbeth is also intrigued by the case, and ends up helping Mikael to solve the head-scratching mystery.
Along the way there are scenes of shocking violence, rape, a twisty mystery narrative and a splash of sex for good measure. Which all makes it a perfect project for Fincher.
Carey Mulligan was originally linked to the role of Lisbeth, but The Playlist reports that Fincher is looking for an unknown.
Which means we can all breathe a sigh of relief – the world probably isn’t ready for Mulligan to go Goth and get molested by a greasy businessman. Still, it's a brilliantly juicy role that we're sure many an actress will be fighting tooth and claw for.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt are both names that have been linked to the part of Mikael, though it's still early days where casting's concerned, so don't expect to hear anything for a while.
Filming is set to commence this autumn, once Fincher has put The Social Network to bed.
Fan of the original? Fancy an English-speaking version?
