Deadline is reporting that director David Fincher has round up some possible female stars for his The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo remake. The list includes Carey Mulligan, Ellen Page, Kristen Stewart, Mia Wasikowska, Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Thirlby, and Scarlett Johannson. The problem is he isn’t sure if he wants to cast an already established star or a complete unknown. The studio is “waiting for a answer” from Brad Pitt to be the male star.

Even though Fincher is still unaware of his cast, and screenwriter Steve Zaillian remains in the final stages of his script, Fincher has gone on ahead and planned to start filming for his remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in October. This report (via The Playlist Nation) also says that Fincher wants to be very faithful to the “European look” of the original films. Fincher plans to shoot all his exteriors in Sweden, but some other studio work will be done in various countries due to incentives.

As you may recall, the novels took place in Stockholm, so Fincher‘s desire to shoot in Sweden is an understandable one. However, by making the setting so similar to that of the original Swedish films, the director may be putting some pressure on Zaillian and his actors to distinguish the film is some way. Some earlier reports suggested that Fincher wants an unknown for the lead role of Lisbeth Salander, but even that does not guarantee originality. Noomi Rapace, who did a terrific job as Salander in the Swedish films, was completely unknown here in the U.S. If Fincher goes down a similar road, it may just feel like more of the same.

Nevertheless, with such an accomplished filmmaker at the helm, this is an American remake that will probably get more serious attention that most. All we are waiting for now is the casting announcements.

What do you think of Fincher’s decision to shoot in Sweden?