The upcoming television adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has found its stars, Deadline reports.
David Oyelowo and Viola Prettejohn will play the lead role in the series based on Larsson’s bestselling novel.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was first published in Swedish in 2005, a year after Larsson’s death from a heart attack. An English language translation by Reg Keeland followed in 2008, shooting up the bestseller charts. The novel follows Lisbeth Salander, an introverted hacker with a photographic memory and an uncanny ability to solve mysteries, who teams up with journalist Mikael Blomkvist to solve the case of a woman who went missing 40 years earlier.
The novel was the first in a trilogy that continued with The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, both translated by Keeland. The characters from the novels returned in a trilogy written by David Lagercrantz and translated by George Goulding, and in another trilogy written by Karin Smirnoff and translated by Sarah Death.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the basis for a 2011 film, directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara.
Oyelowo is known for his roles in films including Selma, The Butler, Lincoln, and Jack Reacher. Prettejohn has acted in series including The Nevers and The Crown. The series is being developed by the network Sky alongside Sony Pictures Television and Left Bank Pictures.
Left Bank CEO Charlotte Moore said, “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.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
