Stellan Skarsgard in talks to join The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

According to Variety Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard is in talks to join Daniel Craig in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake. The film will be shot and set in Sweden so Skarsgard’s casting could have been predicted, as he is probably the most well known Swede working in Hollywood after appearing in Pirates of the Caribbean and Angels & Demons. He will also be seen in Thor next summer.

Skarsgard will play Martin Vanger, one of the principal suspects in the 40-year-old disappearance of a teenage girl. Craig will play Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who recruits a brilliant computer hacker to help search for her. The role of Lisbeth Salander has yet to be cast, but David Fincher and Sony are screen-testing actresses as we speak.

In related news Deadline are reporting that Sony is in talks with Steve Zaillian (Gangs of New York) to adapt The Girl Who Played With Fire, the second installment of the Millennium Trilogy. Zaillian is currently tweaking his script for Tattoo so Fincher and Sony must be keen on keeping consistency behind the camera.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will begin filming later this year for a December 2011 release, but work on The Girl Who Played With Fire won’t begin until after Sony know people are actually interested in a sequel. At least they’ll have a script ready so they can get into production right away.