Sophie Turner as Lara Croft in ‘Tomb Raider’. Credit: Jay Maidment/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.
Preview:
- A first look at Sophie Turner in costume for the ‘Tomb Raider TV series is online.
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge is co-showrunner.
- Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs and Bill Paterson are also in the cast.
Most of the news so far about the new Prime Video‘Tomb Raider’ TV series has been of the casting variety, with the likes of Sophie Turner, Sigourney Weaver and Jason Isaacs.
But as the cameras finally start to roll on the show, we’re getting our first look at Turner in costume as main character Lara Croft.
‘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: Sigourney Weaver in Talks to Join Sophie Turner in the ‘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).
Who is who in the new ‘Tomb Raider’ TV series?
Jason Isaacs in ‘Words of War’. Photo: Decal.
Martin Bobb-Semple is Zip, Lara Croft’s long-standing tech support and friend, while Isaacs is Atlas DeMornay, Laura’s uncle. Bill Paterson is playing Winston, the longstanding Croft family butler.
Weaver, meanwhile, will be Evelyn Wallis, a mysterious, high-flying woman who is keen to exploit Lara’s talents and Paterson Joseph is Thomas Warner, a senior government official brought in to clean up an almighty mess.
The rest of the cast includes Jack Bannon, John Heffernan, Celia Imrie, Sasha Luss, Juliette Motamed and August Wittgenstein.
When will the ‘Tomb Raider’ series hit screens?
With production just now kicking off, there’s a chance the show could be ready for late this year, but 2027 seems more likely.
Sophie Turner as Lara Croft in ‘Tomb Raider’. Credit: Jay Maidment/Prime. Copyright: © Amazon Content Services LLC.
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