'Wallander' Revival Casts a Skarsgård In the Title Role

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.