(Getty Images)David Fincher's film adaptation of
Stieg Larsson's posthumous bestselling book
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has sparked some fierce competition among some of Hollywood's top twenty-somethings to play the titular character. News broke Monday that relative unknown
Rooney Mara has won the role of Lisbeth Salander.
Noomi Rapace played the title character, Lisbeth Salander, in the Swedish film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. (Getty)
Up until now, Rooney was best known for her lead role in this year's remake of
A Nightmare On Elm Street, and she'll also have a weighty role in the upcoming Facebook movie
The Social Network. The word is she beat out the likes of
Natalie Portman,
Emma Watson and
Carey Mulligan for the potentially star-making role.
The book was was originally published in Swedish under the title
Män som hatar kvinnor (translation:
Men Who Hate Women). It has already spawned a Swedish-language film adaptation, which has grossed more than $100 million including $9 million in the US despite being shown in just 202 theaters. Rooney's Swedish counterpart was played by
Noomi Rapace, who has received international acclaim for her performance, so Rooney's got a lot to live up to.
Rooney will be joined onscreen by co-star
Daniel Craig. The two have reportedly signed on for all three movies in the upcoming trilogy. The neo-noir crime stories will be a return to David Fincher's old ways. The director's
Curious Case of Benjamin Button won several nods from the Academy, but he made his name on gritty fare such as
Seven and
Fight Club.
The movie is due out sometime next year.
Rooney Mara Pictures