Why Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander Was Played By 3 Different Actresses In 9 Years

Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was first published in 2005 and translated from Swedish into English in 2008, and although the book was the first story to feature the character of Lisbeth Salander, live-action adaptations of Larsson’s iconic debut novel and the following sequels have sporadically replaced the leading lady. The original book trilogy proved so successful that other authors have been tasked with adding to the source material’s chronology after Larsson’s untimely death in 2004. So, while he may not have been alive to see what a huge success his story became, his legacy is inarguable.

While the books that feature Lisbeth Salander take place in a simple and linear fashion, the Lisbeth Salander movies aren’t quite as straightforward. The three actresses who have played the character so far all appear in different projects that weren’t released that far apart from each other. While the movies could be interpreted as one long saga by anyone unfamiliar with the franchise, that simply isn’t the case. As such, it takes a little research before going to work out which movie is best to start with, and most of them have a different lead actress.

Noomi Rapace Played Lisbeth Salander In The Swedish Millennium Trilogy Movies

All Three Noomi Rapace Movies Were Released In 2009

Although the book franchise is now commonly referred to as the Millennium series, Larsson submitted the manuscripts for his original trilogy all at once, just before he died in 2004. So, the first three installments, often retaining the emeritus title of the Millennium trilogy, are viewed by many as the series’ best era. It took a few years for the source material to make its way to the big screen, but a group of Swedish production companies came together to adapt the books into movies that were all released in 2009. This trilogy featured Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander.

Rapace’s movies retained the native Swedish in which the books were originally written, which isn’t something that later adaptations made by other studios did. As well as being the first actress to play Lisbeth Salander in live-action, she’s also the only person to reprise the role so far. She appeared in the full Swedish Millennium trilogy, and the movies were edited to create a six-episode miniseries in 2010 — simply called Millennium. It was a hectic period for Rapace due to the back-to-back shooting and release schedules, but her hard work has immortalized her as the punk hacker.

Rooney Mara Played Lisbeth Salander In David Ficher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Mara Starred Alongside Daniel Craig’s Mikael Blomkvist In 2011

An English-language remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — the first Stieg Larsson book — was released in 2011, just two years after the Swedish movie trilogy had been released in its entirety. The rapid turnaround between projects meant that Rapace could technically have come back and played Salander again, but director David Fincher went in another direction when casting his movie’s title character. Instead, Rooney Mara stepped into the role alongside Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist.

Despite good reviews and respectable box office takings, Fincher never got around to following in the footsteps of his Swedish counterpart and adapting The Girl Who Played with Fire, which is the second Stieg Larsson book. As a result, neither Daniel Craig nor Rooney Mara returned to make the sequel or its successor, so it was one-and-done for this particular iteration of Lisbeth Salander.

Claire Foy Took Over As 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 movie. Eventually, the decision was made to part ways with Fincher and install Fede Álvarez as the director of the sequel. Just as Fincher was replaced, Mara was also recast, with Claire Foy inheriting the role of Lisbeth Salander in 2018’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web. The movie made the bold decision to move past both The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest, which took the film series beyond Larsson’s source material and into the pages of David Lagercrantz’s literary continuation.

The Girl in the Spider‘s Web was the result of a soft reboot that had taken place ahead of its release. The 2018 effort could be viewed without seeing Fincher’s movie, 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 movie had still occurred, but that they weren’t relevant to the sequel’s immediate plot. The movie’s meta approach contributed to its bombing at the box office and receiving mainly negative reviews. Like Mara, Foy never had the chance to play Salander again.

Why Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth Salander Is The Best Live-Action Version Of The Character

Rapace Benefited From Having The Opportunity To Play Out Lisbeth’s Entire Millennium Trilogy Arc

All three actresses to have played Lisbeth Salander have put their own stamp on the character, but it would be disingenuous to claim that anyone but the role’s originator deserves the top spot in a list of who did it best. While Mara and Foy stood out as bright sparks in their respective movies, Rapace had the advantage of getting to play out Salander’s full arc from the original three Stieg Larsson novels. Her version of the character also felt the most authentic as well as being more faithful to the source material.

Although Mara did get to play Salander in the self-contained story of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Salander’s journey in the following two books is vital to the character’s development, so Mara missed out on getting to continue the arc. Similarly, Foy’s time as Salander could have been much better if her film had been better-received and she had been able to add to her appearances as the character in adaptations of the other Lagercrantz books. Rapace was a beneficiary of her circumstances, but it doesn’t change the fact that she also did it better than the other two.

Amazon’s Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Show Means There Will Be A Fourth Lisbeth Salander

Another Salander Actress Should Be Announced Soon

Although Amazon’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo TV show has long been short of details, the project is confirmed and will presumably be put into production relatively soon. With Veena Sub installed as the showrunner, it’s only a matter of time before the show starts to make cast announcements. The latest reboot of Stieg Larsson’s work will likely want to put a clear divide between past efforts, so the return of any previous Lisbeth Salander actress probably won’t happen for various reasons.

In short, all three women are now too old to reprise the role, and Salander’s age in the first book, 24, needs to be taken into account for Amazon’s upcoming project. As such, it stands to reason that a fourth actress will be added to the group of those who will have played Lisbeth Salander in live-action. If Amazon’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo goes well, the franchise’s new leading lady could very well eclipse Noomi Rapace as the face of the legendary Stieg Larsson character.

Dream Casting For The Fourth Lisbeth

Cailee Spaeny, Maya Hawke, And Others Have Been Suggested

The announcement of a new TV series adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has been met with a lot of controversy among fans, mostly due to the casting of Lisbeth Salander. With such an iconic character, it is clear that there is a lot of passion behind fans’ opinions over who should take over the role next. While there are many fans who are vocal about the fact that Noomi Rapace’s performance cannot be outdone or who suggest Rooney Mara should be given a chance to reprise the role, there have been some other notable fan-casting choices.

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The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo TV Show Is Already Honoring The Most Important Part Of The Book

The highly anticipated Girl With the Dragon Tattoo television adaptation on Amazon already looks to be in good hands with its dedicated showrunner.

In one post on the fan-casting site MyCast, Cailee Spaeny is presented as the choice to take over the role of Lisbeth. Spaeny is an up-and-coming actor who has made a name for herself in recent years, with her standout performance in Civil War and her acclaimed starring role in Priscilla. However, it was her work in Alien: Romulus that really propelled her and offered the best argument for her taking over the role of the tough hero of this series.

Other MyCast suggestions include several young actors who are quickly becoming big names in Hollywood. With Stranger Things coming to an end, some fans think that Natalia Dyer could step out of her role as Nancy Wheeler and become Lisbeth. Maya Hawke is another Stranger Things alum who has been put forth as an option. Other popular options include Hailee Steinfeld, Jenna Ortega, Thomasin McKenzie, and Anya Taylor-Joy.

While all of these are strong choices for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo heroine, there are some more out-of-the-box casting ideas that could be great, including one Redditor recommending Aubrey Plaza for the role. Other strong contenders have emerged recently, such as Margaret Qualley, coming off her strong performance in The Substance, as well as recent Oscar winner Mikey Madison, whose tour de force work in Anora makes a strong case for her casting.