David Fincher's 2011 crime thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is considered the most popular film adaptation of author Stieg Larsson's novels about the titular Swedish computer hacker known as Lisbeth Salander. Despite receiving five Oscar nominations and winning one for editing, the planned sequels never got off the ground and the Millennium franchise was eventually rebooted with 2018's The Girl in the Spider's Web.

Nearly a decade has passed since Fincher's film, but it still has plenty of fans thanks to Rooney Mara's Oscar-nominated performance as Salander. Not only did she pull off a great portrayal of the character in the shadow of Noomi Rapace's performance in the Swedish film version released in 2009, but she also won the role over a lot of popular actresses. Here are a few notable stars who were considered as Salander before Mara was ultimately cast.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson has been one of the more impressive actresses of her generation and would have made a fine Lisbeth Salander. Despite auditioning and coming close for the part, David Fincher ultimately decided to cast someone else. He explained in an interview that "the thing with Scarlett is, you can't wait for her to take her clothes off." In other words, he believed she was too sexy to be Salander. Johansson of course has still shined as an actress, most notably as Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

RELATED: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Why Noomi Rapace Didn't Return As Lisbeth Salander (Despite A Fan Campaign)

Natalie Portman

According to the film's IMDB page, Lisbeth Salander was initially offered to Natalie Portman but she declined due to exhaustion. Those who watched her in Black Swan, which was released a year before Dragon Tattoo, can understand why she turned it down. Black Swan is a psychological drama about a professional ballerina's obsession with perfection in her craft. Portman's physical and mental exhaustion from her performance in Darren Aronofsky's film paid off with an Academy Award.

Jenifer Lawrence

Katniss Everdeen shoots a bow and arrow in The Hunger Games

Jennifer Lawrence's career was beginning to pick up steam around the time of casting for Lisbeth Salander thanks to her Oscar-nominated performance in Winter's Bone. The rising star was considered for the part but was seen as too tall. In the novels, Salander's height is 4-foot-11 whereas Lawrence is 5-foot-9. Despite being passed over, she ascended into superstar status with films such as X-Men: First Class, The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook. 

RELATED: The Girl In The Spider's Web: Why Claire Foy Replaced Rooney Mara As Lisbeth Salander

Yolandi Visser

Although plenty of recognizable names were considered, the leading role was actually offered to a singer with no acting experience. Yolandi Visser is the vocalist for a rap-rave group called Die Antwood. Despite having never acted before, she was offered the titular role of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but declined, stating "They contacted my agency in L.A. but we said no because it's not something I want to do." As odd as it may seem for the filmmakers wanting the South African rapper to be Salander, Visser certainly looked the part. She's only a couple inches taller than Salander and was around the same age as her at the time of casting. She would go on to make her feature film debut in Neill Blomkamp's science-fiction film Chappie in 2015.

Others

With a role as coveted and demanding as Lisbeth Salander, several accomplished young actresses were considered. Amongst the lengthy list of names includes Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Elliot Page and Mia Wasikowska.

Kristen Stewart was in the middle of making the popular yet polarizing Twilight Saga and it would have been a shock to the public had she been cast in Dragon Tattoo. Since the conclusion of the Twilight series, however, Stewart has proven to be capable of handling complex characters like Lisbeth Salander.

Carey Mulligan would have been surprising casting as she had been best known for playing more innocent characters in films such as An Education and Gordon Geckko's daughter in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. However, after seeing her shine in the critically acclaimed revenge thriller Promising Young Woman it turns out she would have been great as Salander.

Elliot Page certainly had the small stature to play the part in Fincher's adaptation coming off breakout performances in Juno and InceptionAnd the same could be said for the Alice in Wonderland star Mia Wasikowska but she declined to audition.

The list of names considered ranges from Anne Hathaway to Emma Watson to Evan Rachel Wood, emphasizing how revered the character Lisbeth Salander is. Going up against stiff competition makes Mara winning the role even impressive, and her career shows no signs of slowing.

KEEP READING: Amazon Developing Series For Girl With The Dragon Tattoo's Lisbeth Salander