Author Stieg Larsson passed away at the age of 50 due to heart attack, shortly before his work would make him a worldwide literary sensation. His three books in the ‘Millennium’ series have become best-sellers in a number of languages, spawning three major Swedish films and an American version coming next winter from David Fincher. Much has been made of Larsson’s intent to publish ten books in the series, detailing the exploits of superjournalist Mikael Blomkvist and his law-breaking sidekick, damaged ward-of-state/hacker Lisbeth Salander. But what did Larsson leave behind?
Larsson’s longtime companion Eva Gabrielsson, who engaged in a legal battle with the Larsson estate over the late author’s assets, claims to have found a laptop containing the fifth book in the series. There was talk about the fourth book being uncovered, but aside from conversations between Larsson and his family (where he apparently disclosed that the fifth book was more enjoyable to write than the fourth), but this is the first hard evidence that the material exists. There are no plans about what to do with the manuscript, which is close to being finished, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the material surface in one way or another, since the books have sold millions of copies.
We haven’t read the books, but we have seen the three ridiculous Swedish films, and if they stay true to the books, they leave a lot of room for another installment in the series. The question is, will a book and/or movie see the light of day? Long, protracted legal maneuverings are expected to happen before the book can even be published not to mention getting the (probably very expensive) movie rights sold. But that said, don’t be surprised if “The Girl Who Bothered The Meter Maid” or whatever it’s called are destined to go the way of Timur Bekmambetov’s “Dusk Watch” as far as unfilmed sequels go.