The news that the follow-up to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is on the way is likely great news to fans of the first film. However, the fact that the sequel will have an all-new cast has folks wondering who could step into the boots of Lizbeth Salander. According to a new report, there are two big names being floated around as possible replacements for Rooney Mara. One is Natalie Portman and the other is Scarlett Johansson.
It appears that Scarlett Johannson and Natalie Portman are "among the names" being considered for the role, so it would appear that there are several actresses currently being looked at, with these two likely floating to the top due to their existing star power. The rest of the names might be names we know but they could just as easily not be.
It will be interesting to see what sort of a direction they go with the role. Rooney Mara was far from a household name when she was cast as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It was a breakout role for the young actress. However, it's possible the new version, being helmed by Fede Alvarez who is officially on board as director, will be looking to cast the male and female leads with more established names.
Scarlett Johansson was actually in the running to play Lisbeth Salander the last time around but lost the role to Rooney Mara. According to Variety, the main reason for her interest was a desire to work for director David Fincher, so it's possible she'll be less interested in playing the role now, unless she's a big Fede Alverez fan. Of course, she's probably a Fede Alvarez fan. Who isn't?
Natalie Portman, on the other hand, is entirely new to the discussion as far as we know. With her most recent role being in the biopic Jackie she may not be the first actress you'd think of to play a role like this, but she certainly has the range and the ability. In its own way, The Girl in the Spider's Web could end up being something dark and sinister, like Black Swan, but with less ballet dancing and more computer hacking.
With a release date of the fall of 2018 already set for the new movie a casting decision probably isn't too far away. In addition to the role of Lisbeth Salander, they'll also need to cast a new Mikael Blomkvist. The part was played by Daniel Craig but he also will not be back for the sequel.
