Phoebe Waller-Bridge jumps from “Indiana Jones” to Lara Croft with new “Tomb Raider” live-action TV series
"If I could tell my teenage self that this was happening, I think she’d explode," the "Fleabag" star said.
Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is vaulting, shimmying, and exploring her way from Indiana Jones to the realm of Lara Croft as the writer and executive producer of a new live-action Tomb Raider TV series at Amazon Prime Video.
The announcement came Tuesday as part of a partnership between Tomb Raider game series company Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios, and also indicated that the deal will "develop additional Tomb Raider stories in streaming and film" in the future.
Jonathan Olley / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett; Crystal Dynamics
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford in 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' ; Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider'"If I could tell my teenage self that this was happening, I think she’d explode," Waller-Bridge, who starred with Harrison Ford in 2023's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, said in a press statement. "Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television with such passionate collaborators. Lara means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all."
Though no plot details for the planned TV series were available upon the announcement, Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke promised that it would contain "exhilarating adventures that honor the legacy of this iconic character," who changed the landscape of the industry when she bucked trends as a female explorer upon her 1996 video game debut.
The upcoming Tomb Raider TV series marks the latest in a growing list of projects adapted from the iconic video game series starring Croft as a globe-trotting, tomb-raiding adventurer.
Oscar winner Angelina Jolie fronted the first movie based on the franchise in 2001, and returned as Croft for the movie's 2003 sequel. Alicia Vikander, also an Academy Award-winning actress, took the reins from Jolie for Roar Uthaug's 2018 reboot of the film series, which is based on later iterations of the games.
Vikander's version of the film was a worldwide success, grossing about $275 million at the global box office, and a sequel was initially planned with writer Misha Green attached to pen the script.
Related: Tomb Raider: The evolution of Lara Croft
However, in July 2022, Vikander told Entertainment Weekly that the sequel was in limbo.
"With the MGM and Amazon buyout, I have no clue. Now it's kind of politics," Vikander says, referencing Amazon's multi-billion-dollar acquisition of MGM in March. "I think Misha and I have been ready, so it's kind of in somebody else's hands, to be honest." (MGM had no comment at the time.)
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Elsewhere, Netflix is currently working on its animated Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft TV series for release later this year, while Tuesday's announcement also confirmed that another Tomb Raider video game is in development.
"The as-yet untitled game is a single-player, narrative-driven action-adventure that is an all new, next chapter to Lara Croft’s legendary explorations in the Tomb Raider franchise," the release stated.
A release date and casting details for the Tomb Raider live-action TV series are not yet announced.
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