The Circle is a Swedish fantasy directed and co-written by Levan Akin, based on the best-selling novel The Circle by Sara Bergmark Elfgren and Mats Strandberg, the former of whom also co-wrote the screenplay. It was produced and scored by ABBA member Benny Andersson. The film was intended to be the first in a trilogy of films based on Engelsfors, though plans of the sequels have been cancelled. A film adaptation was to be produced by Filmlance in 2013, with Levan Akin set to direct and Bergmark Elfgren as script writer. The production was put on hold due to disagreements between the authors and Filmlance. Akin left the project as well. Benny Andersson's son Ludvig brought the novel to his attention and he bought the rights to produce the film, more faithfully than Filmlance intended, however the film still has significant differences from the original novel. Open castings for young girls who could play the leads were held all over Sweden.