dailynewsnblog
(Left) Sigourney Weaver stars in ‘Call Jane.’ (Right) Sophie Turner stars in ‘Trust’.
Preview:
- Sigourney Weaver is in talks to join the ‘Tomb Raider TV series.
- Sophie Turner is playing Lara Croft.
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge is co-showrunner.
While she’ll be back on big screens next week with ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash,’Sigourney Weaver also has her eyes on TV –– and another big, popular property to boot.
Deadline reports that Weaver is now in talks to join ‘Game of Thrones’ veteran Sophie Turner in Prime Video’s developing ‘Tomb Raider’ series.
‘Fleabag’ creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is running the show alongside ‘Wayward Pines’ Chad Hodge, while ‘Shōgun’s Jonathan Van Tulleken is an executive producer and lead director.
Related Article: ‘Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner is Officially Lara Croft for Prime Video’s ‘Tomb Raider’ Series
What’s the history of ‘Tomb Raider’?
(Left) Sophie Turner in ‘Another Me.’ Photo: 20th Century Fox. (Right) Lara Croft from the ‘Tomb Raider’ video game.
Launched in 1996 on Sony’s PlayStation console, the ‘Tomb Raider’ series has gone on to be a huge selling title across various platforms, earning more than $95 million by last year and spawning a massive amount of merchandising.
The series gives the player control of fictional British archaeologist Lara Croft, who travels around the world searching for lost artefacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins.
It has been adapted a few times for movies––2001’s ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ and 2003’s ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life’, both of which starred Angelina Jolie as the title character, and 2018’s ‘Tomb Raider’, which rebooted the series, with Roar Uthaug in the director’s chair and Alicia Vikander as Croft.
That most recent title came from MGM and Warner Bros., but though there had been talk of a sequel, with first ‘Meg 2: The Trench’s Ben Wheatley and then ‘Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green attached to make it, development stalled.
Amazon, of course, bought MGM, but the rights to the ‘Tomb Raider’ games had already lapsed from the studio because of the lack of forward movement on the new movie.
With the rights firmly in Amazon’s grip, the plans have now shifted to building out an interconnected Lara Croft universe boasting a new game release and what will probably be another movie reboot but is currently focused on a TV series (unrelated to the one already on Netflix).
What has Phoebe Waller-Bridge said about ‘Tomb Raider’?
Phoebe Waller-Bridge from ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
Here’s what ‘Raider’ fan Waller-Bridge had to say:
“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.”
When will the ‘Tomb Raider’ series hit screens?
With the show still in the development phase and casting not yet complete, we wouldn’t expect this one on screens much before late next year or at some point in 2027.
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in 2018’s ‘Tomb Raider.’ Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures.
