The splendid Carey Mulligan, Oscar nominated for her starring role in last years An Education, has been strongly linked with the title role of Lisbeth in the English language version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Apparently Mulligan won out in casting against 5,000 candidates to land the role, but Im betting her past performances will have ensured she was top of the producers wish list to begin with. This report is given credence by the fact that Mulligan is an avid fan of the series and said last month I am obsessed with those booksI would love to play Lisbeth. The Times reports that Mulligan is favoured by the filmmakers as well as getting the vote of late authors family, who clearly feel she has the hard edge required to play the kick-ass, punk biker in the hard-hitting thriller series. In fact, they are said to be so convinced that they are offering her £10 million to sign up for the trilogy. This latest adaptation of Stieg Larssons Millennium Trilogy of internationally best-selling novels is being directed by Benjamin Button helmer David Fincher and the filming is likely to happen in Canada later this year (as the books get relocated to a North American territory with a similar climate to Sweden). Fincher is ideally placed to direct the grimy, thriller series, which could do with having a similar atmosphere to the likes of Fight Club and Se7en. Lisbeth was portrayed by Noomi Rapace (pictured above) in the Swedish adaptation of the novel, which grossed over $88 million worldwide earlier this year. That films two Swedish language sequels, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest, came out late last year in Scandinavia and will be released in the UK this August and November respectively. Mulligan will next be seen in Oliver Stones Wall Street: Money Never Sleepsthis September,whilst Finchers next effort is The Social Network which is due out in October.