UPDATE:

On November 3, we reported that Fede Alvarez, director of the Evil Dead remake and this year’s hit Don’t Breathe, was in talks to direct The Girl In The Spider’s Web, a sequel to David Finchers The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Today, while speaking with our very own Kellvin Chavez, Alvarez confirmed that the deal was done. 

So you can file the report below under confirmed.

ORIGINAL REPORT:

Talk about a sudden turnaround…

For years now, any talk of a sequel to David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has quickly been extinguished by numbers. What numbers, you ask? How about the fact that the film had a fairly hefty- for the subject matter- $90 million budget, and only pulled in $102 domestically. The film, which could’ve probably been made for half of what it ended up costing, made only $233 million worldwide despite being based on an extremely popular book, being directed by a revered filmmaker in Fincher, and starring James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. 

So the thought of a sequel has seemed like pie in the sky, especially now that we’re five years removed from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Many of us remained skeptical it would happen, even despite Sony snatching up the movie rights to a new book in the series that came out last year. 

Until now…

Variety is reporting that Sony is not only fast-tracking an adaptation of The Girl In The Spider’s Web, but that they’re eyeing Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead remake) to direct the film, which they hope to get into production next year. Alvarez just had a low-budget smash for Sony’s Screen Gems shingle in Don’t Breathe. The horror-thriller, which cost just under $10 million, has pulled in a muscular $151 million worldwide. This sort of low-risk/high-reward proposition is exactly what Sony envisioned for its Dragon Tattoo series, which tells stories that are character-driven suspense thrillers and not Hunger Games-style expensive blockbuster material. 

The Girl In The Spider’s Web will be based on the fourth book in the Millenium novel series created by late writer Stieg Larrson. It’s the first in the series not to be written by Larrson, who died suddenly in 2004. This one was penned by David Lagercrantz, and it’s been adapted for the screen by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises, Locke). 

There’s apparently interest on both sides, as Alvarez discussed the possibility of directing The Girl In The Spider’s Web with Sony while talking about what his future at the studio could look like. As of now, though, it wouldn’t appear that he’s actually signed on the dotted line just yet.

If The Girl In The Spider’s Web gets off the ground and ends up doing what it has the potential to do, Sony could perhaps find a way to look at Larrson’s other two books in the series for future films. Larrson, prior to his untimely death, had planned for the series to have 10 entries. 

SOURCE: Variety