Summary
TheTomb RaiderTV show gets a promising new update from an Amazon executive. The Lara Croft video game character first made the jump to live-action in 2001, with Angelina Jolie taking on the iconic role. Croft then appeared in a 2018 movie starring Alicia Vikander, seemingly serving as the first installment in a new franchise. Now, Phoebe Waller-Bridge is now set to bring an entirely new iteration of the character to life with her announced Prime VideoTomb Raiderseries.
In a recent interview withTheWrap, Amazon MGM Studios TV head Vernon Sanders shares an update on Waller-Bridge’sTomb Raidershow. According to the executive,the show is eying a 2025 filming start, but Croft hasn’t yet been cast. Check out Sanders' comment below:
We are hard at work. We’ve got great material. Phoebe is really good. We’re really excited. My guess is we’ll spend the rest of this year getting things prepped so that we can start production early next year. We’ve got to find our Lara Croft, so that global wide search will start sooner rather than later.
Why Alicia Vikander Isn’t Returning As Lara Croft In The Tomb Raider Show
Tomb Raider 2’s Cancellation Explained
Directed by Roar Uthaug, 2018’sTomb Raiderserved as an origin story for a new, more grounded version of Croft. The film follows Vikander’s lead character as she travels to a remote island to rescue her missing father, facing off against natural perils, the violent leader of a shadowy organization, and supernatural powers.Tomb Raiderearned mixed reviews, and currently sports a lackluster 52% onRotten Tomatoes, with the audience score only marginally higher at 55%.
Made on an estimated budget of just under $98 million (after tax credits, perForbes),Tomb Raidermade $274.9 million at the box office. The film, then, was a commercial success, and it seemed for a while as if Vikander would be reprising her role in a sequel from director Misha Green (who took over from Ben Wheatley). TheplannedTomb Raider 2, however, suffered delays caused by COVID-19, andthere were reports of budgetary and creative disagreements taking place behind the scenes. This was further complicated by Amazon’s purchase of MGM in 2022.
Casting Lara Croft For Amazon’s Live-Action Tomb Raider: 10 Actors Who’d Be Perfect
These actors and their mix of physical skills, dramatic chops, and big-budget experience might make them the perfect new Lara Croft.
MGM had until 2022 to get a sequel off the groundper the conditions of a deal that was signed in 2013, and the above factors prevented the studio from meeting this deadline. Amazon then purchased the film and TV rights of the franchise, and put both Waller-Bridge’s show and a newTomb Raidermovieinto development. Unfortunately, Vikander, despite being a highlight of the 2018 film, just didn’t fit into Amazon’s vision for the character and theTomb Raiderfranchise at large.
