THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Being Developed as an Eight-Episode TV Series
Sky is looking to dive into the world of Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. The network has commissioned a brand-new TV adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, based on the iconic novel by Stieg Larsson, with the project set up as an eight-episode Sky Original series.
This new take comes from Steve Lightfoot, whose credits include Spider-Noir, Behind Her Eyes, and Hannibal, and Angela LaManna, known for her work on The Haunting of Bly Manor and Behind Her Eyes.
The duo will serve as writers and executive producers, with Left Bank Pictures handling production. Executive producers also include Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin.
Production is scheduled to kick off this spring in Lithuania. Once completed, the series will air on Sky across the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Sony Pictures Television will oversee international distribution, with U.S. pre-sales already underway.
The story centers on disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist and brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander as they dig into the decades-old disappearance of a young woman from a powerful family.
According to the official description, the series will reframe the story for a modern setting while staying true to the investigative core of Larsson’s Millennium novels, emphasizing themes that feel especially timely now.
This isn’t the first time Hollywood has tried to bring the Millennium series to television. Amazon had once been developing its own series adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, though that version never made it out of development.
Larsson’s Millennium saga has had an impressive and winding life since the author’s death in 2004. He completed three novels before passing away: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest.
The series was later continued by David Lagercrantz with The Girl in the Spider’s Web, The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, and The Girl Who Lived Twice. More recently, Karin Smirnoff took over the franchise, publishing The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons in 2022 and The Girl with Ice in Her Veins in 2024. Altogether, the books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
Fans have also seen multiple screen adaptations over the years. The original Swedish film trilogy starred Noomi Rapace as Salander and Michael Nyqvist as Blomkvist. Hollywood followed with David Fincher’s 2011 American adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig. Sony later released The Girl in the Spider’s Web in 2018, featuring Claire Foy and Sverrir Gudnason in the lead roles.
With Sky now taking a fresh crack at the material, this series has a real shot at giving Larsson’s characters the long-form storytelling they deserve.
Source: Variety