Swedish writer Stieg Larsson didn't live to see his Millennium series of novels published; he died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 50.
Random HouseLisbeth Salander lives on.
Swedish publisher Nordstedts announced two new books in the Millennium series — aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books. Book five will come out in 2017, and six is tentatively eyed for 2019. David Lagercrantz, who wrote the recently published The Girl in the Spider’s Web after being tapped by Stieg Larsson’s estate to continue the series, will pen the new books.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lagercrantz compared Salander to Batman and said he thought she had the enduring appeal of the mythical crimefighter. “I saw her like Spiderman or Batman,” said Lagercrantz. “She was not just this great character. She also had this great background — this mythology — and I really felt that I wanted to develop it, dig into it. I was thinking about the mythology of these superheroes. Why this with bats? There are so many questions to be asked about Salander.”
The Girl in the Spider’s Web sold 200,000 copies in its first week following its U.S. publication in early September.
Sony Pictures still controls movie rights to the series but has remained silent on whether there will be new films to follow 2011’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which grossed a relatively disappointing $102 million at the U.S. box office.
