David Fincher Directing The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Next

Remember what we said just a week or two ago about David Fincher and his ever-expanding list of possible projects? About how they're always subject to change? At the time it looked as if he might direct Pawn Sacrifice, the Tobey Maguire-produced film about Bobby Fischer and his 1970s showdown against Soviet chess master Boris Spassky. But that time was also when Fincher started circling a gig directing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for real.

Now, it appears that he's in fact going to direct the adaptation of Stieg Larsson's best-selling book, the Swedish movie version of which is finally in US theaters right now.

The Playlist (fairly well on a roll today) has the news that Fincher is taking on the project, saying they've confirmed that it is "definitely Fincher's next film."Carey Mulligan has been on a wishlist and in the rumor mill for the pivotal role of Lisbeth Salander (played by Noomi rapace in the Swedish film) but she has recently said that she isn't formally part of the film at this point. The Playlist hears that Fincher wants an unknown for the role, and given that Sony is supposedly wildly happy with his work on The Social Network (and that he's David Fincher) there's reason to expect that he could get away with casting an unknown should he find someone that clicked.

And to reiterate another rumor, Brad Pitt and George Clooney are both names that have both been bandied about for the lead male role. With Fincher at the helm they seem more possible, but then again Fincher can probably get anyone he wants. Not having read the book (it's been sitting on my shelf for months, but I have a new Ellroy to finish!) I've got no idea if they're actually good for the role.