Who will be the next Lisbeth Salander?

14 Mar – A reboot of the popular "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" franchise has been in the cards for about two years now, and the project is moving forward with a new cast and new release date.

Director Fede Alvarez ("Don't Breathe") will be helming "The Girl in the Spider's Web", according to a statement from Sony Pictures. This will mark the first time for the novel by David Lagercrantz to be adapted to the big screen.

Alvarez is now on a global hunt for a new actress to play the title character Lisbeth Salander, as Rooney Mara will not be returning to play the role.

Alicia Vikander was previously attached to play the part but looks like the Oscar-winning actress may no longer be involved as the latest update reveals that the movie will feature a line-up of new faces. As previously announced, even Daniel Craig will not be reprising his starring role.

The studio will have about half a year to look for the new cast before principal photography begins in September this year.

The book series was first adapted into Swedish films, starring Noomi Rapace, before getting the Hollywood treatment.

News of the movie was announced at the London Book Fair, during the launch of the fifth book in the the "Millennium" book series, also written by Lagercrantz.

The series is a worldwide bestseller, with the first four books selling over 86 million copies since their debut in August 2005. Lagercrantz was hired to continue the series after author Stieg Larsson's death in 2004.

Larsson penned the first three novels, released post-humously, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2005), "The Girl Who Played with Fire" (2006), and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest" (2007).

Lagercrantz wrote the fourth novel, "The Girl in the Spider's Web", which follows superhacker, Salander and investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist as they find themselves at the centre of a tangled web of spies, cyber hackers and nefarious governments.

Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish-language big screen adaptations of the series, while Rooney Mara played the iconic character in Sony's 2011 English-language adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

The movie version of "The Girl in the Spider's Web" is slated for release in North America on 5 October 2018.