Update: THR confirm Nyqvist has joined the film.
Chalk it up as rumor for now, but Australian movie site What’s Playing are reporting that Michael Nyqvist, the star of the Swedish film version of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” is in final talks to join the fourth entry of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise as the villain.
The news is interesting because as you might recall, the original Lisbeth Salander, Noomi Rapace, was reported last month to be taking meetings in Hollywood for a variety of projects, one of them being the currently untitled “Mission: Impossible 4.” She eventually signed on for “Sherlock Holmes 2” (the site claims Rapace wasn’t interested in the role anyway) but if these reports are true, it looks like Rapace isn’t the only ‘Dragon Tattoo’ cast member looking to make a leap across the pond.
Nyqvist’s role is apparently meaty, with an insider saying “They have like a terrific 5 page fight sequence at the end of the film – brutal, brutal stuff. He’s this very charming, but calculating bad guy. Not your typical spy-film villain.”
But there are reportedly more roles to fill, with producers looking for a big name to take on the role of the head of the IMF (not the banking institution, but the organization the agents work for). The film will begin production this fall under the codename “Aries” with a globe-trotting shoot that will include Vancouver, Prague, Dubai and the U.S. and is scheduled to hit theaters on December 16, 2011.
