With David Fincher getting more or less free reign when it came to his $90 million-budgeted 2011 thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, it’s apparent that Sony has been less keen on pricey follow-ups. While there has been many rumors and insistence on the part of the studio that they are still developing the sequels that would complete the Steig Larsson trilogy, it has been a rocky road to production.
Fincher has seemingly moved on to other projects, with both the thriller Gone Girl and Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea vying for his attention (although he hasn’t outright denied involvement in the sequel), while its stars Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig have been completing a vast number of high-profile projects. Now it seems we have an answer on what is exactly holding up The Girl Who Played With Fire. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is Craig himself, who portrayed Mikael Blomkvist in the 2011 film, that is delaying the production.
Coming off his $1 billion-plus worldwide smash hit Skyfall, Craig is demanding more money for the follow-up, a difficult proposition when the studio is looking to cut overall costs. The possible outcome? Sony could completely cut out the character altogether from the sequels, shifting the focus solely on Mara’s Lisbeth Salander. While Craig said he is indeed interested in resuming — confirming it isn’t just for the paycheck — it’s easy to see that the star’s time is valuable, especially with his James Bond films back on a two-year cycle.
If Craig did indeed exit, it may take even longer for the film to go into production, as screenwriter Steven Zaillian would have to come back to the script and (hopefully) seamlessly cut him out. Regardless, with its respective stars aiming to shoot new projects this spring, it sounds like it will be some time before we see how this one shakes out.
Would you want to see a Dragon Tattoo follow-up with Craig?