Tomb Raider sounds like it’ll be getting a major reboot as part of its new relationship with Amazon. As spotted by Eurogamer, some new information gathered by The Hollywood Reporter suggests that the streaming giant is working on a plan to create an interconnected Tomb Raider universe.
Sources in contact with the publication claim that Amazon intends to turn the Tomb Raider IP into a Marvel-style interconnected franchise. Alongside the new Tomb Raider game that the company will be working with Crystal Dynamics on, Amazon reportedly also has plans for a Tomb Raider TV series and a new movie that’ll be related to the show. It’s reported that Fleabag and Killing Eve writer and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been brought on board to write the script for the TV series and serve as an executive producer, although she won’t be making an acting appearance in the show.
Also said to be on board to executive produce the Tomb Raider TV series are Ryan Andolina and Amanda Greenblatt, two former Amazon executives who’ve since formed their own production company. In addition, Dimitri M. Johnson’s dj2 Entertainment company will executive produce the TV series, with Johnson also agreeing to a deal with Amazon to produce a new Tomb Raider movie. Johnson’s dj2 Entertainment also co-produced the Sonic The Hedgehog movie and is working on TV and movie adaptations of other notable video game IPs including Life Is Strange and Disco Elysium.
The TV series is said to be in the early “development stages,” although the overall plan as far as Amazon is concerned is to interlink its new vision for Tomb Raider by creating an interwoven transmedia franchise in a similar fashion to Marvel. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how this pans out, although either way, this renewed love for Lara Croft and her adventures is bound to come as exciting news for the game’s community.
Amazon and Crystal Dynamics announced the new Tomb Raider game back in December of last year, to the surprise and excitement of many longstanding fans of the franchise. It’s thought that the project may be unveiled in more detail this year, as Crystal Dynamics is shutting down ongoing development on Marvel’s Avengers and instead shifting more of its resources to work on the new Tomb Raider title. The new game is being built in Unreal Engine 5 and will be a multiplatform title with a strong narrative-based adventure at its core. Aside from that, not too much else is known about Lara Croft’s next adventure. Regardless, if these latest reports are accurate, there’s clearly a lot to look forward to in the future of this beloved franchise.
