Carey Mulligan To Knock Heads in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

Carey Mulligan has reportedly nabbed one of the hottest action roles in Hollywood as Lisbeth Salander, the punk heroine in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."

The Times of London reports the well-scrubbed Oscar-nominated star of "An Education" will take the part, which will require a lot of black leather, a trademark tattoo and maybe a visible piercing or two.

It will mean a killer, breakout part and a big payday for the star which will require three films covering Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy.

It's great casting and a big relief for those hardcore fans of the trilogy. An excellent Swedish version of the film with Noomi Rapace playing the bisexual investigator has already built a cult audience in the states -- despite subtitles which has kept it from going truly mainstream.

That will change in this new version with Scott Rudin producing and David Fincher ("Fight Club") directing.  Mulligan had to win the approval of Fincher and also the family of the deceased Larsson.

The family was especially suspicious of the Americanized film version until Rudin put them at peace.

“They now understand what kind of film he is making and they like Carey,” said an industry source last week.

The new version may be relocated to Canada as a compromise for American audiences. It will not reach cinemas until all three books have been turned into Swedish-language films.

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