David Fincher Skips PAWN SACRIFICE; Will Make THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO His Next Film

David Fincher has chosen to direct the mystery-thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo over the Bobby Fischer biopic Pawn Sacrifice.  According to The Playlist, he was never attached to the latter but did take a meeting with the filmmakers to “help them out.”  Personally, I think it’s a great choice on Fincher’s part, although I am curious to see where this puts him in relation to remaking Heavy Metal.  The Playlist says Fincher is planning to start filming late this fall after he’s finished doing press for The Social Network, his upcoming film about the creation of Facebook.

Hit the jump for more details on Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a novel by Stieg Larsson about a journalist, who is hired to document the Vagner family history but is secretly searching for answers as to the mysterious disappearance of Harriet (Vagner’s niece) which occurred 40 years prior. Eventually he teams up with Lisbeth Salander, a genius hacker with Asperger’s Syndrome, to solve this mystery.  Steve Zaillian (American Gangster) is handling the script with Scott Rudin producing.

While we previously reported that Carey Mulligan was under consideration for the role, Playlist says Fincher is looking for an unknown and Sony, who will be releasing the film, will probably give it to him as they’re reportedly very happy with The Social Network and are probably willing to give him the leeway to do what he wants with Dragon Tattoo.

The book was adapted in to a Swedish film by the late Niels Arden Oplev and currently rates at an 82% at Rotten Tomatoes.  I’m sure Fincher is more than up to the task of making this movie his own, although the books are actually part of a trilogy that was released posthumously and has become a smash hit in various European countries.  I’m curious to see if Fincher would adapt all three books, attempt to condense the whole trilogy into one movie, or pass the sequels on to another director and remain involved with the project as a producer.

No matter what happens after Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I’m just glad Fincher isn’t showing any signs of slowing down his rate of production.  Some folks forget that there was a five year gap between the underrated Panic Room and the masterful Zodiac.