Extended Stieg Larsson Documentary Set For TV

Henrik Georgsson’s (The Bridge) forthcoming documentary feature about Stieg Larsson, The Man Who Played With Fire (Mannen som lekte med elden), will be released theatrically this August and then air in an extended four-part format on TV4 and C More in 2019.

Although best known internationally for the Millenium trilogy of books and its film adaptations, Stieg Larsson co-founded and was Managing Editor of the Expo newspaper. He also wrote extensively about the Swedish Democrats, right-wing extremism and nazism in Sweden.

Larsson died from a a heart attack in November 2004, and his personal archive has remained hidden in the basement of Expo since 2016. However, this documentary can now tell his story based on unprecedented access to this sensitive material, alongside dramatic reconstructions and interviews with his friends, family and colleagues.

Head Of News & Society for TV4, Viveka Hansson, told Expressen: “This documentary is a strong and moving depiction of a person, and of the present – Stieg Larsson was deeply involved with documenting the emerging far right in Sweden. It also gives us a detailed understanding of Larssson’s inspiration for the characters in Millenium.”

Head Of Drama for TV4 and C More, Josefine Tengblad, added: “We are very excited and proud to tell Stieg’s story both as a feature film but above all as a four-part series to be broadcast on TV4 / C More next year… We believe there is a strong demand for this type of project and have several more in development.”