'Wallander' Revival Casts a Skarsgård In the Title Role
Gustaf Skarsgård as Wallander in 'Wallander'
Magnus Ragnvid
Don't look now, but yet another mystery series from the 1990s/2000s is getting a revival. Wallander, the franchise based on bestselling author Henning Mankell's series of novels, which has thus far produced two globally-acclaimed Swedish detective series (and one ill-fated prequel), is back. Returning to its original Nordic Noir roots, this will be a "modernized and reimagined reboot" of the series, with the lead role of Wallander played by Gustaf Skarsgård (Vikings), Stellan's second-born of eight children. (Of the other family actors, Alexander is the oldest, Bill is fourth, and Valter is sixth-born.)
The new series will begin by adapting three of the most successful books in Mankell's series: the 1991 opening novel, Faceless Killers; the 1995 fifth book, Sidetracked; and the 1997 release, One Step Behind. There are ten novels in all of the Wallander series, plus four novellas.
Technically, this is the fifth official Wallander adaptation; the first was a series of nine feature-length films that aired on Swedish TV from 1994 to 2007, starring Rolf Lassgård, which also adapted Faceless Killers and One Step Behind. That was followed by three seasons of feature-length episodes, starring Krister Henriksson, that aired between 2005 and 2013. That one is better known because it coincided with the BBC adaptation of Wallander, which starred Kenneth Branagh and ran on the BBC from 2008 to 2016, and was subsequently rebroadcast in the United States on Masterpiece. More recently, Netflix attempted a prequel reboot, Young Wallander, but it didn't last long.
I say technically this is a new series, but hardcore fans will already know there's a major tie back to the original Lassgård films; the ninth and final installment, 2007's The Pyramid (Pyramiden), was full of flashbacks to Wallander's early days, where the younger version of the detective was played by, you guessed it, Gustaf Skarsgård.
Here's the new version's synopsis:
The new series will see Kurt Wallander, now 42, who’s recently separated after two decades of marriage and estranged from his daughter. On the edge as his life seemingly unravels, Wallander drinks too much, sleeps too little, and carries the weight of every unsolved case.
Thus far, only Skarsgård has been confirmed as cast. The rest of the ensemble is expected to be announced in due course.
Season 1 will officially comprise three feature-length episodes, with the premiere penned by Antonia Pyk, who wrote episodes of the original 1990s-era Wallander series, (preceding the Branagh version). The other two installments are written by Josefin Johansson (Top Dog) and Jörgen Bergmark (Beck); directors Molly Hartleb (Riding In Darkness) and Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja (Egghead Republic) split helming duties. Glenn Lund produces for Jarowskij/Yellow Bird, with TV4 and Banijay Rights.
Wallander does not yet have an English-language distributor, but considering how popular the Branagh version was for Masterpiece, it's a good bet that someone will scoop it up soon.
