New ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ Series Casts David Oyelowo and Viola Prettejohn

Stieg Larsson’s Millennium novels are heading back to the screen, with a new TV adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo officially finding its two leads.

The upcoming Sky Original series has cast David Oyelowo (Silo) as journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Viola Prettejohn (The Crown) as hacker Lisbeth Salander. The eight-episode series comes from writers and executive producers Amanda Coe (Black Narcissus), Steve Lightfoot (The Punisher, Hannibal), and Angela LaManna (The Punisher, Channel Zero). Filming is expected to begin next month.

The story follows Blomkvist after his career takes a major hit. He is hired by wealthy businessman Henrik Vanger to investigate the decades-old disappearance of his niece. Blomkvist eventually joins forces with Salander, a highly skilled hacker with a difficult personality, as their investigation uncovers a disturbing history of secrets, corruption, violence, and murder within the Vanger family.

The new series is expected to explore the Vanger family in greater depth than previous adaptations.

“Salander and Blomkvist are two of modern fiction’s most iconic and compelling characters,” Sky scripted originals executive Meghan Lyvers said, adding that the network is excited to introduce the characters to a new generation.

Executive producer Charlotte Moore described the story as one dealing with “power, corruption, justice, and violence against women,” noting that those themes remain relevant today.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has already received several major adaptations. Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist starred in the original Swedish film trilogy, while David Fincher directed the 2011 English-language adaptation starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig.

Mara received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance as Salander. Fincher had originally planned to continue the story with two additional films, but those sequels never moved forward. Claire Foy later played Salander in The Girl in the Spider’s Web, directed by Fede Álvarez.

The Millennium franchise has also continued beyond Larsson’s original trilogy. Following his death, David Lagercrantz wrote three additional novels, while Karin Smirnoff is currently working on another trilogy.

Amazon previously developed its own television adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but that project ultimately failed to materialize.

With Oyelowo and Prettejohn now attached, the latest version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is moving closer to production.

More details are expected as filming approaches.