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Sky’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” series has found its leads in David Oyelowo and Viola Prettejohn.
Oyelowo (“Silo,” “Selma”) will play disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist alongside Prettejohn (“The Crown,” “The Testament
of Ann Lee”) as hacker Lisbeth Salander in a TV reimagining of Steig Larsson’s hit Millennium book series. The characters were portrayed by Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, respectively, in David Fincher’s 2011 movie of the same name.
Produced by Left Bank Pictures, known for “The Crown” and “Dept Q,” the eight-part mystery thriller promises to bring the story “into the present day” by “exploring how power, secrecy and misogyny take on new and insidious forms in an ever more connected digital world.” Oscar-nominated “King Richard” helmer Reinaldo Marcus Green has also come on board as lead director and an executive producer. Filming begins in Lithuania next month.
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” follows “canceled star journalist Mikael Blomkvist and uncompromising hacker Lisbeth Salander as they investigate the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, who vanished more than three decades ago from the secluded island home of one of Sweden’s most powerful industrial dynasties,” according to the show’s synopsis. “As they delve deeper into the Vanger family’s buried past, their investigation draws them closer to a chilling threat unfolding dangerously close to them in the present.”
Variety broke the news that the series had been commissioned back in January. In addition to Green as director, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is written and executive produced by Amanda Coe (“Apple Tree Yard,” “The Trial of Christine Keeler”), Steve Lightfoot (“Behind Her Eyes,” “The Punisher”) and Angela LaManna (“The Haunting of Bly Manor,” “Behind Her Eyes”). Andrea Harkin (“The Trial of Christine Keeler,” “Time”) and Amy Neil (“Hanna,” “Hostage”) will also direct. Oyelowo is executive producing along with Charlotte Moore and John Phillips for Left Bank Pictures and Sam Hoyle for Sky, in addition to Scott Rudin and Amy Pascal. Nuala O’Leary is series producer.
“Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are 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,” Meghan Lyvers, managing director of scripted originals at Sky, said in a statement. “Our brilliant writing team, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s bold vision and our fantastic partners at Left Bank Pictures are creating a series that honors everything audiences love about ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,’ while taking its characters, mystery and themes into a world that feels unmistakably of the moment. We can’t wait for audiences to experience it.”
Added Moore: “We are incredibly proud to have assembled a world class creative team to reimagine Stieg Larsson’s masterpiece for a modern audience. ‘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.”
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” will air on Sky in the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Sony Pictures Television is handling international distribution and will introduce global clients to the series at Mipcom in October.
Deadline Hollywood was the first to report the news.
