Fede Alvarez on why he wanted a new Lisbeth for The Girl in the Spider’s Web

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The role of Lisbeth Salander was first brought to life on the big-screen by Noomi Rapace in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, followed by Rooney Mara taking over the role in David Fincher's English-language remake of the Swedish film, and THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB will find yet another actress playing Salander, The Crown's Claire Foy.

Before it was revealed that the film would serve as a soft-reboot of the franchise with a new group of actors, there was a possibility that Rooney Mara could reprise the role, with the actress even saying that she'd love to return, but as we know, Claire Foy wound up with the role and director Fede Alvarez recently told Entertainment Weekly why.

There was a lot of debate — but not with me — mostly debate among the studio, if they [were] taking that route or not. Eventually, I think it was me coming in, saying, I preferred to have my own cast. As a director, I just didn’t like the idea of taking someone else’s cast. As much as I admired Fincher as a filmmaker I think Rooney Mara is Fincher’s Lisbeth, right? And I wanted to find my own.

As much as I would have loved to have seen Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig returning, I can certainly understand why Fede Alvarez wanted to make his own mark on the franchise. Entertainment Weekly also debuted a new image from THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB featuring Lisbeth Salander (Foy) and Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason).

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB will find Lisbeth Salander having put the events of the first three novels behind her, but she's soon drawn into a new mystery by Mikael Blomvist involving a top-secret group of hackers known as the Spider Society. "In the first three books, you’re getting her life story, and how she frees herself from the shackles of being a ward of the state," Foy has said. "The fourth book is a different story, in a way. It’s the same character, but you’re not joining a Lisbeth who is still dealing with that part of her life. The story we tell, especially in the beginning of the film, is ‘What does she do now? What’s her purpose?’ I’m excited for people to see it; we’re not trying to make it like anything else [in the series], but we’re also not trying to make it wildly different. We’re just trying to be truthful to the story."

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB will hit theaters on November 9, 2018.