Lara Croft is headed from the Amazon rain forest to Amazon Studios. The Tomb Raider franchise will return in the form of a streaming TV series written and executive-produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the report, the video game-based franchise has found a new home at Amazon, and a writer in the form of the in-demand Waller-Bridge, who recently renewed a development deal with the streamer. It is currently unclear if Waller-Bridge will also star. Last year, it was reported that MGM had allowed the Tomb Raider rights to lapse, setting off a bidding war for the franchise; Amazon apparently won that war, resulting in today's announcement. Tomb Raider is only the latest project in the works from Fleabag scribe Waller-Bridge at Amazon; yesterday, they announced an adaptation of the supernatural black comedy Sign Here, and she has another, as-yet-unrevealed series in the pipeline. She can next be seen raiding tombs alongside Harrison Ford in this year's hotly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
The Tomb Raider series of video games began in 1996, focusing on British archeologist Lara Croft as she adventured her way through dungeons and death traps. Originally published by Eidos Interactive, and later Square Enix after they acquired Eidos, there have been twelve games in the series, which has sold over 95 million copies worldwide; the most recent, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, was released in 2018. The franchise has also spawned a number of spinoff handheld and mobile games, comic books, action figures, and theme park attractions. It made the jump to the big screen for Paramount in 2001's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie; after it became a box office success, a sequel, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life, followed in 2003.
However, after The Cradle of Life underperformed at the box office and Jolie declined to resume the role, the series was eventually rebooted at MGM with 2018's Tomb Raider, starring Alicia Vikander. Vikander and the film's producers were eager to make a sequel, even signing Misha Green to direct, but plans fell through, resulting in the rights coming up for grabs. To tide Tomb Raider fans over until the new Amazon series, an anime series is scheduled to hit Netflix this year, with Hayley Atwell voicing Lara Croft.
Waller-Bridge will pen and executive produce Tomb Raider, with former head of comedy and drama Ryan Andolina and former head of overall deals Amanda Greenblatt.
Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.