Amazon Developing ‘Tomb Raider’ Movies, Games and a Phoebe Waller-Bridge TV Series
The corporate giant is reportedly looking to turn the adventures of Lara Croft into a connected storytelling universe on the lines of the MCU.
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in 2018's 'Tomb Raider.'
Having seen success––at least in of buzz––with the likes of ‘The Boys’, Amazon is breaking open its (ittedly huge) piggy bank for a new potential franchise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company has struck a deal with Dmitri M. Johnson’s dj2 Entertainment for the rights to the ‘Tomb Raider’ game series.
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 artifacts and infiltrating dangerous tombs and ruins.
Lara Croft from the 'Tomb Raider' video game.
It has been adapted a few times for movies––2001’s ‘Alicia Vikander as Croft.
That most recent title came from MGM and Warner Bros., but there has been talk of a sequel, with first ‘Ben Wheatley and then ‘Lovecraft Country’s Misha Green attached to make it, development stalled.
Amazon, of course, bought MGM last year, 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 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.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge on BBC Studios' 'Fleabag.'
Perhaps most intriguingly, the new universe also features a potential No Time to Die’ (for which she provided script polishes).
No details have yet emerged on what Waller-Bridge’s show might look like (she doesn’t plan to appear, just write and produce) or how it might connect to any potential movie (or movies, you know Amazon will want to get their money’s worth). But it’s certainly interesting to ponder the idea of a Lara Croft with the writer’s trademark snappy dialogue.
Yet Amazon is not the only company with an interest in Croft––this will no doubt be disheartening for Netflix, which already has a ‘Tomb Raider’ anime series in the works following a two-series order. Or perhaps it’ll drive up interest in all things Lara?
Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in 2018's 'Tomb Raider.'
