2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo wasn’t exactly a commercial success by any means. However, it did receive some great performances from Rooney Mara and strong direction from the film’s commander-in-chief David Fincher. The movie went on to gain much praise from critics while bringing in many awards for its achievements. Ever since, many have asked whether or not the studio would in-fact take another chance on the property. Now comes whispers of significant problems with Daniel Craig returning in the role of Mikael Blomkvist.

The Hollywood Reporter claims that sources close to the production are saying that Daniel Craig is indecisive on returning due to pay cuts for the sequel. The first film’s budget is estimated around $90 million and the film barely broke even domestically with $102 million in profit. However, because the worldwide gross ranked in over $200 million, the studio is willing to revisit the material with budget trims. Now that Casino Royale is unleashed, Craig has become a bankable star in Hollywood, and sources say he’s not ready to take a paycheck cut. THR did add that a source close to him said that he is in fact ready to return.

If the information is true, then I find this highly disappointing. I found his performance in the remake to be a tremendous improvement over Michael Nyqvist. Craig brought so much to the character to invest the audience between Mikael and Lisbeth. The report further provides that it is not out of question that the Blomkvist role could potentially be written off with the film focusing more on Lisbeth in “Played with Fire.” Hopefully, the studio can reach an agreement that will please everyone to return regardless of budget. I hate seeing crucial characters subtracted from sequels because of stupid financial purposes.

What do you think? Would you see a Dragon Tattoo sequel without the involvement of Daniel Craig?

 

Source: The Hollywood Reporter