Why Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander was played by three different actresses in 9 years

Stieg Larsson The girl with the dragon tattoo was first published in 2005 and translated from Swedish to English in 2008, and although the book was the first story to feature the character Lisbeth Salander, the live-action adaptations of Larsson’s iconic debut novel and subsequent sequels have sporadically replaced the protagonist. The original trilogy of books proved so successful that other authors were tasked with adding to the chronology of the source material after Larsson’s untimely death in 2004. So while he may not be alive to see the enormous success that his story became, his legacy is indisputable.

While the books that feature Lisbeth Salander happen in a simple and linear wayLisbeth Salander’s films are not so simple. The three actresses who have played the character so far appear in different projects that were not released so far apart. While the films could be interpreted as one long saga by someone unfamiliar with the franchise, that is simply not the case. As such, it takes a bit of research before deciding which movie is best to start with, and most of them have a different lead actress.

Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish films of the Millennium trilogy

All three Noomi Rapace films were released in 2009

Although the book franchise is now commonly referred to as the Millennium series, Larsson sent the manuscripts for his original trilogy all at onceshortly before his death in 2004. Thus, the first three episodes, often holding the title emeritus of the Millennium trilogy, are seen by many as the best era of the series. It took a few years for the original material to hit the big screen, but a group of Swedish production companies came together to adapt the books into films that were released in 2009. This trilogy starred Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander.

Rapace’s films retained the native Swedish in which the books were originally written, which was not something later adaptations made by other studios did. In addition to being the first actress to play Lisbeth Salander in live-action, she is also the only person to reprise the role so far. She appeared in the complete Swedish Millennium trilogy, and the films were edited to create a six-episode miniseries in 2010 – called simply Millennium. It was a busy time for Rapace due to the back-to-back shootings and release schedules, but her hard work immortalized her as the punk hacker.

Rooney Mara played Lisbeth Salander in David Ficher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mara starred opposite Mikael Blomkvist in Daniel Craig in 2011

An English remake of The girl with the dragon tattoo – Stieg Larsson’s first book – was released in 2011, just two years after the full release of the Swedish film trilogy. Rapid rotation between projects meant that Rapace could technically have come back and played against Salander againbut director David Fincher went in another direction when choosing his film’s title character. Instead, Rooney Mara took on the role alongside Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist.

Despite good reviews and respectable box office receipts, Fincher was never able to follow in his Swedish counterpart’s footsteps and adapt The girl who played with firewhich is Stieg Larsson’s second book. As a result, neither Daniel Craig nor Rooney Mara returned to make the sequel or its successor, so it was all made for this specific iteration of Lisbeth Salander.

Claire Foy took on the role of Lisbeth Salander in 2018’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web (after skipping 2 books)

Years passed without progress being made on Fincher’s delayed second Millennium film. Eventually, the decision was made to part ways with Fincher and install Fede Álvarez as the sequel’s director. Just as Fincher was replaced, Mara was also recast, with Claire Foy inheriting the role from Lisbeth Salander in 2018. The girl in the spider’s web. The film made the bold decision to surpass both The girl who played with fire and The girl who kicked the hornet’s nestwhich took the film series beyond Larsson’s source material and into the pages of David Lagercrantz’s literary sequel.

The spider girlfrom the web it was the result of a soft reset that took place before its release. The 2018 effort could be watched without seeing Fincher’s film, but it was still technically within the same canon – despite the entire cast being replaced. Instead, it was generally accepted that the events of Fincher’s film had still occurred, but were not relevant to the immediate plot of the sequel. The film’s meta approach contributed to its bombing at the box office and receiving mostly negative reviews. Just like Mara, Foy never got the chance to play Salander again.

Why Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth Salander is the best live-action version of the character

Rapace benefited from the opportunity to represent the entire arc of Lisbeth’s Millennium trilogy

All three actresses who played Lisbeth Salander left their own mark on the characterbut it would be false to claim that anyone other than the creator of the paper deserves first place on a list of those who did it best. While Mara and Foy stood out as bright sparks in their respective films, Rapace had the advantage of playing Salander’s full arc across Stieg Larsson’s three original novels. Her version of the character also felt the most authentic, as well as being more faithful to the source material.

Although Mara played Salander in the independent story of The girl with the dragon tattooSalander’s journey in the next two books is vital to the character’s development, so Mara missed the opportunity to continue the arc. Likewise, Foy’s time as Salander could have been much better if her film had been better received, and she had been able to increase her appearances as the character in adaptations of Lagercrantz’s other books. Rapace was a beneficiary of her circumstancesbut that doesn’t change the fact that she also did it better than the other two.

Amazon’s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Shows Mean There Will Be A Fourth Lisbeth Salander

Another Salander actress should be announced soon

Although Amazon The girl with the dragon tattoo The TV show has long lacked details, the project is confirmed and will likely go into production soon. With Veena Sub installed as showrunner, it’s only a matter of time before the show starts making cast announcements. The latest reboot of Stieg Larsson’s work will likely want to draw a clear divide between previous effortsSo the return of any previous Lisbeth Salander actress probably won’t happen for a number of reasons.

In short, all three women are now too old to reprise the role, and Lisbeth Salander’s age in the first book needs to be taken into account in Amazon’s next project. As such, it stands to reason that a fourth actress will be added to the group of those who will play Lisbeth Salander in live-action. If Amazon The girl with the dragon tattoo If all goes well, the franchise’s new protagonist could very well eclipse Noomi Rapace as the face of legendary character Stieg Larsson.