Before Uncharted, before God of War, even before Ratchet and Clank, there was Tomb Raider. A staple series of the original PlayStation console before ultimately becoming a multi-platform juggernaut, Tomb Raider follows the globe-trotting adventures of gun-toting archeologist Lara Croft as she fights mythological monsters, wild animals, and competing treasure hunters in practically every corner of the globe, all while solving puzzles and performing outstanding acrobatics. The series is receiving its 20th game this year, following multiple reinventions of both Lara Croft herself and the tone of the franchise.
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On top of an already in-production anime series at Netflix, Lara Croft will also be receiving a live-action series courtesy of Prime Video. Unlike other video game franchises, Tomb Raider arguably lends itself incredibly well to the film medium, with the franchise’s most recent entries embracing a cinematic presentation similar to other AAA games. Given that we’ve seen Tomb Raider adapted to film before, we have a basis for what to do and what not to do with one of the first major video game heroines. The question is: what exactly do we want to see from a Tomb Raider series?
Action and Archeology Together
Warner Bros. Pictures
What comes to mind when you hear the name Tomb Raider? Do you imagine a slow-paced, contemplative series that deals with interpersonal conflicts and historical findings? Or, do you picture an adventurous trek through dangerous locations, literally “raiding” ancient temples and dig sites for artifacts that may fall into the wrong hands otherwise? We won’t pretend that Tomb Raider is some kind of profound franchise, but it at the very least bases its action and puzzles on real events, mythologies, and locations.
But how do you structure this in a way that not only respects the source material, but allows it to feel natural as a series? The 2013 reboot was rightfully chastised by fans of the franchise upon its initial release for veering off significantly from what Tomb Raider is known for. The act was relegated to content that could be easily missed in favor of just shooting things and crafting survival tools.
There is a possible framework for a series if it borrows a similar setup from Tomb Raider: Legend. Pieces of an artifact are scattered all over the globe, with Lara and her team having to hunt down each piece one at a time. It brought her to the high-rises of Japan, to ancient medieval castles, and even to abandoned research facilities in the middle of Siberia. It’d be a perfect way to introduce a new potential audience to the character while giving fans what they’d want out of a series.
A Compelling Lara Croft
Paramount Pictures
Simply put, Tomb Raider and Lara Croft are nigh inseparable. You can’t have one without the other, and thankfully, we haven’t seen the franchise try to do so. Even with plans for a cinematic universe in motion, Lara Croft is still the face of the franchise, and nailing the character is crucial to making a compelling series.
The difficulty in doing this largely stems from what exactly the new series will aim to accomplish. Lara Croft as a character, despite maintaining some constant traits, has been reinvented several times throughout the series. Originally depicted as a quick-witted action hero who’s more than capable of holding her own, Lara would see herself become a Bond-esque studious type and a suave leader of a research team before the series was rebooted in 2013. From there, we get a Lara who starts off as a far more reluctant researcher, tending to run away from her fears rather than tackling them dead on. It’s only when she becomes exposed to grisly horrors — like swimming through a river of blood and viscera — and being forced to take lives in self-defense that she starts to morph into the Lara we all know and love, albeit with a more gritty edge.
As for who should star as Lara herself, we have a variety of actors that can take up the role. We’ve seen Alicia Vikander take up the dual-pistols in the most recent Tomb Raider adaptation, the 2018 self-titled film, and she did a good enough job of capturing a Lara Croft ripped straight out of the rebooted games. In the most popular films of the franchise, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life, Angelina Jolie brought the more fun and silly side of Lara Croft to the silver screen. In the absence of these two, some have suggested Emily Blunt as a possible replacement, as her history with action films gives her the experience needed to portray Lara on the small screen.
