Claire Foy Is Bringing Her Talent to 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' Franchise as the New Lisbeth Salander

The breakout star from the series that made British Royals cool is officially heading to Sweden. Sony announced earlier this year that they would be rebooting their Girl With The Dragon Tattoo franchise without director David Fincher or the all-star cast from the 2011 film. After much speculation, it's now been confirmed that The Crown's Claire Foy is stepping into the combat boots of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl In The Spider's Web, an adaptation of the fourth book in Stieg Larsson's famed Millennium series.

The film will act as a direct follow-up to Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and, according to screenwriter Steven Knight, will focus more on Lisbeth as the central character rather than Mikael Blomkvist, the character originally portrayed by Daniel Craig.

Foy will be the third actress to star in the role as Noomi Rapace portrayed Lisbeth in the 2009 Swedish trilogy and Rooney Mara received an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal in Fincher's 2011 version. Production is set to begin in January in Berlin and Stockholm with Don't Breathe's Fede Alvarez set to direct the new incarnation. In a statement, he expressed his excitement at the prospect of working with the Golden Globe winner:

“I couldn’t be more thrilled about Claire taking the reins of the iconic Lisbeth Salander... Claire is an incredible, rare talent who will inject a new and exciting life into Lisbeth. I can’t wait to bring this new story to a worldwide audience, with Claire Foy at its center.”

Alvarez's enthusiasm is further illustrated with his twitter account as he retweeted user ImaginativeHobbyist's Photoshop rendering of what Foy could look like as the Swedish hacker:

Today's adventure in @Adobe @Photoshop imagines what Claire Foy could look like as Lisbeth Salander in #TheGirlInTheSpidersWeb // #ClaireFoy — ImaginativeHobbyist (@TheImgHobbyist) September 16, 2017

Claire Foy Is The Perfect Choice For Lisbeth

Prior to the casting announcement, a number of high-profile names were listed as potential candidates to portray Lisbeth. Although I would've been psyched to see Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman tackle the role, it makes sense for #ClaireFoy to step into the role. As Alvarez mentioned in his statement, Foy is one of those rare talents who manages to elevate any scene she is starring in regardless of who she is sharing a scene with. In a cast consisting of phenomenal performers and an Oscar winner (Mark Rylance), Foy held her own and then some in the BBC miniseries Wolf Hall, where she was nominated for Best Actress at the British Academy Television Award for her performance as Anne Boleyn.

Whether it's the doomed wife of Henry VIII or her freakishly impressive portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, Foy's expertise at placing herself in the minds of complex women seemingly knows no bounds.

Lisbeth Salander needs an actress who is capable of handling the subtleties of her character. She exemplifies the idea of showing rather than telling, as she rarely opens up to anyone and must be wary of what she physically expresses – a sentiment both Rapace and Mara mastered with their respective portrayals.

With Foy now leading the charge, her performance is sure to be another endearing portrayal of the mysterious hacker in #TheGirlintheSpidersWeb.

The Girl in the Spider's Web is set for release on October 19th, 2018.

Are you excited to see Claire Foy as Lisbeth Salander? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

(Source: Variety)