David Fincher says DRAGON TATTOO sequels will shoot back to back

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo opens this coming week and I am excited to see it in theaters. David Fincher’s adaptation is based on Stieg Larsson’s best-selling trilogy. Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig have both stated they plan to continue with the franchise it it moves forward. Fincher on the other hand, has not yet signed on to direct the second two. During an interview this weekend he shared his reasons:

Classically movie studios don't make deals with director even if there's a hope that there's going to be 3, because they want to make sure that you behave. But yes, the second two books are very much one story. It doesn't seem prudent to me to go to Sweden for a year, come back for a year, put out the second one, go to Sweden for a year, go back for a year…

Mara, also onstage, then interrupted him to say "Please don't." Fincher laughed and continued:

I don't think Rooney wants to be doing this four years from now. That I think would be crazy, especially given the sense that it's really one story that's bifurcated in the middle.

Having seen the second two films, they could easily be filmed together without hurting the story quality. If you have read the books or seen The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest, you know that the same characters and locations occur in both. The film is set to open on the evening of December 20, and I hope (as does Sony) that it does well at the box office.

What do you think of this news? Do you think it is imperative Fincher directs the next two films?