Daniel Craig set to star in Girl with Dragon Tattoo

Daniel Craig, whose next Bond movie is currently on hold, has emerged as the frontrunner to play the male lead in the Hollywood remake of Sweden's hit film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But a mystery still remains over who will play the film's eponymous 'Girl', the role for which Swedish actress Noomi Rapace has been widely acclaimed.
 
The studio behind the English-language version, Sony Pictures, has scheduled the film’s US release for December 2011. While the title role of Lisbeth Salander, the tattooed computer hacker heroine, is yet to be confirmed, the film website Imdb claims that Craig will play the role of a disgraced journalist who is hired to investigate the case of a missing woman. Variety meanwhile has reported that Craig is definitely in talks with Sony, who also make the Bond films.
 
As for the title role, Rapace has been mooted as a possible candidate to make the leap to Hollywood while the Oscar-nominated British actress Carey Mulligan is also said to have caught the eye of director David Fincher. Variety however claims that Fincher is still expected to choose an unknown for the role. Producers are said to have seen more than 5,000 hopefuls in their bid to find the right actress.
 
Whoever is cast, Sony hopes its Hollywood remake will emulate the success of the original Girl. The Swedish version, which is based on the first book from Stieg Larsson's best-selling trilogy, is one of the year's top 'specialty' films in the US, grossing more than $12 million, while the second Swedish film, The Girl Who Played With Fire opened in the States on July 9 and has already taken a respectable $3.9 million.

With Bond currently on the rocks, Sony hopes the film will launch a new franchise for the studio. ·