Reports of Amazon’s Prime Video working on a new Tomb Raider film and TV series have been confirmed.
With the mixed success of Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, another well-known franchise has been reportedly being considered for a media adaptation. Recent news has discussed a new Tomb Raider game for some time, but newer insights indicated that a new film and TV series based on Lara Croft’s adventures have been in the works. Sources have stated that Killing Eve and Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge would be helming the TV adaptation.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to catch the buzz around Waller-Bridge’s involvement in helping develop the Tomb Raider show—with the writing and executive producing. The actress said she did not plan to star in the adaptation though.
Other names attached to the project so far included the former head of comedy and drama, Ryan Andolina and former head of overall deals, Amanda Greenblatt. Production company head of dj2 Entertainment, Dmirti M. Johnson was also said to be attached to Prime Video’s Tomb Raider plans by helping to adapt a new film. He also shared his thoughts on adapting other games from other franchises like Life is Strange and Disco Elysium for Amazon.
The new film would not be tied to the 2018 film Tomb Raider, which starred Alicia Vikander as the titular Lara Croft character. That film was under MGM and was scrapped after Amazon acquired MGM Studios and the rights to the franchise’s films. The company claimed that any future films based on the video game would be a “complete reboot.”
Amazon recently stated that they wanted to build a “connected world of Tomb Raider” that was “akin to what Marvel has already accomplished.” The partnership with Johnson and Prime Video was allegedly “among the largest commitments at Amazon after Lord of the Rings.”
In related news, the Tomb Raider anime series starring Haley Atwell as Lara Croft announced an update that the animation studio was still coming soon. The Netflix showrunner Tasha Huo tweeted with a GIF of Angelina Jolie’s depiction of Lara, “Lots of exciting Tomb Raider news yesterday. And yes — we’re still working away on the anime. Animation takes a long time, y’all, but the wait will be worth it!”
With the new Tomb Raider game expected to be announced at E3 2023 in June, perhaps there will be more announcements on the TV series and film in development. While Amazon has been successful in various media and gaming areas, could rebooting this franchise be a great success or a complete failure? With the ongoing success of the TV adaptation of The Last of Us, perhaps video game adaptations have a brighter future.
