Summary
Amazon MGM Studios and Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge are actively working on aTomb Raideradaptation for Prime Video, with the search for an actor to play Lara Croft turning into a hotly-contested competition for the role.
Deadlinereports that the showrunners have created a shortlist of young actors with the potential to play Croft, and a couple of them are already undergoing screen tests. Sophie Turner, best known for her role as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, is one such candidate, while Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) is another. The report suggests that Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2049) are also under consideration but haven’t been screen-tested.
The Next Lara Croft
Lara Croft has previously been played by Angelina Jolie, in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003) and by Alicia Vikander in Tomb Raider (2018). None of these movies were positively reviewed by critics, but Jolie’s debut as Lara Croft does hold the record for the highest-grossing video game adaptation when adjusting for inflation.
Waller-Bridge was overjoyed to receive the nod to write the show, saying “If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she’d explode. Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television with such passionate collaborators. Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all,” (thanks,Deadline).
Tomb Raider is seeing somewhat of a resurgence this year with the announcement of Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider and the release of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft,an animated seriestaking place after the events ofShadow of the Tomb Raider. The show received mostly positive reviews and has been renewed for a second season.
Crystal Dynamics is currently working on a Tomb Raider project which is being referred to as Tomb Raider Next. We haven’t heard much about the game, but Crystal Dynamics laid off several workers late last year as part of parent company Embracer Group’s cost-cutting measures.
