Hey, remember a couple of weeks ago, when Sony announced they’re doing a Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sequel, but without David Fincher or Daniel Craig or Rooney Mara, and everybody was kind of like, “erm, okay?” Turns out, Ms. Mara feels the same way.
In an interview with E! to promote the forthcoming ( flawless ) Carol, Mara shrugged, “I’m doing it unless someone tells me that I’m not—and then I still might do it.” According to early reports, Ex Machina and Man from U.N.C.L.E star Alicia Vikander has been tapped to take over the role of Lisbeth Salander.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mara says, “As far as I know I’m doing it until someone tells me otherwise,” and the wording there is telling—since Mara’s original contract for the 2011 Dragon Tattoo included (as most potential franchise contracts do) an option for sequels. Such options are traditionally included to lock a star in for future installments—and in Mara’s case, at something resembling the low up-and-comer rate of the first film—but here, it might serve to protect the actor, and get her a handsome payout should they choose to recast the role.
So maybe her comments to E! were a sincere desire to return to the role. Or maybe they were a reminder to Sony that should they choose to “tell her otherwise,” it’s gonna cost ‘em.