The next Lara Croft has been cast, with Sophie Turner set to take on the leading role in Amazon’s upcoming Tomb Raider series.
Also announced were the creative leads for the show. Phoebe Waller-Bridge will serve as creator, writer, executive producer and co-showrunner, while Jonathan Van Tulleken is director and executive producer, and Chad Hodge joins as co-showrunner and executive producer.
Turner, whose breakout role came as Sansa Stark in the Game of Thrones series, before she played Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, will be the third actor to play Lara Croft. She follows in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie, who starred in two films in the early 2000s, and Alicia Vikander, who had one shot at the role in 2018.
Turner said she was “thrilled beyond measure” and that “[Lara Croft is] such an iconic character, who means so much to so many – and I am giving everything I’ve got.”
Waller-Bridge, meanwhile, said that “Everyone on board is wildly passionate about Lara and are all as outrageous, brave, and hilarious as she is.” Adding, “Get your artifacts out… Croft is coming.”
Her creative leadership will be fascinating to see come through. Waller-Bridge had plenty of credits and significant moments before really making a name for herself with BBC black comedy show Fleabag – based on her one-woman show from a few years prior – and then with writing and executive producing for the TV adaptation of Killing Eve. She was then brought in to co-write Daniel Craig’s final outing as James Bond, No Time To Die, and starred on screen as Helena Shaw in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Production on the show is set to start in January of next year, with the series heading to Amazon Prime when it’s good and ready.
No word on how Crystal Dynamics is getting on with their latest Tomb Raider reboot, though…
Source: Tomb Raider on Threads, BBC
