Summer movie season is concluding, and with the departure of extraterrestrial robots, merry mutants, revolutionary primates, embattled wizards, and the like from multiplexes, our attention now turns to the more prestigious, adult fare of fall and winter, all leading towards the sublime self congratulation of Oscar season.  Movies don't get much more grown up than The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher's adaptation of the violent, messed-up novel by the late Stieg Larsson.

Over the last several days, Sony has released a little more from the dark franchise hopeful with a slew of character profiles and a preview of the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  Now, the studio has released a new image of Rooney Mara as the title character of Lisbeth Salander, an indomitable hacker and self-styled avenger.

Yesterday, Sony Pictures released a heaping of character profiles and accompanying images from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, the studio's American adaptation of the novel that made Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson a posthumous bestselling author.  If you clicked all the way to the film's official website to investigate all 18 bios without hitting the mute button, then you were treated to the first sampling of the film's score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  The evocative, somewhat sinister seven-minute track is now helpfully available for a listen free from the encumbrances of an official site.

Much has been made lately in regards to the casting of Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Yet it is Noomi Rapace that first brought Lisbeth Salander to life in such a wonderful way. Rapace and her co-star, Michael Nyqvist, originally thrilled audiences with their on-screen chemistry in ‘Dragon Tattoo’. Yet in the latest film, they are barely together for one scene. While it may be part of the original story since she spends the time in a hospital room (or courtroom) and he is trying to prove her innocence, the fire they share together is clearly missing. Too bad they couldn’t somehow give them extra time to keep that incredible energy going.

That was fast. Though it was only revealed on August 17th that she'd nabbed the part of Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Rooney Mara has already donned the appropriate garb and chopped her hair off for the role. Images of the actress have popped up over at the fansite RooneyMara.net, showing her next to a motorcycle and looking drastically different than her normally sweet-faced self. That's what the role calls for though, and so far, so good.