Last week there was a news item from The Hollywood Reporter regarding the possibility that David Fincher's next film might be Gone Girl. But wasn't he supposed to be working on The Girl Who Played With Fire?
According to THR, even though the Fincher version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo made $233 million worldwide, it was "not perceived as a runaway hit" and the studio wants to cut costs for the sequel. That doesn't mean ditching Fincher… But it could mean getting rid of Daniel Craig:
Sources close to the project say the biggest holdup isn't Fincher's involvement but star Daniel Craig's. The studio has options on Craig for two sequels, but the actor is said to want a pay raise, not a cut, in the wake of Skyfall grossing $1 billion worldwide. If Sony can't bring Craig back to reprise his role as journalist Mikael Blomkvist, the sources say the studio could write the character out of the sequel.
Um, what? No Blomkvist? Isn't he a major character? (THR notes: "a Craig source says negotiations have yet to commence and the actor wants to return to the role.")
But maybe the real problem is this: It's over. Isn't it over? It feels like it's over. The buzz is over. The hype is over. The movies have already been made, in Sweden. The books, which once held steady on bestseller lists, have been replaced by Hunger Games, Game of Thrones and Fifty Shades of Garbage. And while we need more kick-ass women in movies, do we necessarily need Lisbeth Salander?