For anyone keeping track of how long it’s taken for news of aTomb Raidersequel to surface, that waiting time might just grow a bit longer after MGM Studios just lost the rights to Lara Croft’s cinema adventures, also meaning Alicia Vikander will not play the role in the future.
The last film adaptation of theTomb Raiderfranchise was the 2018 movie starring Vikander, produced by Graham King and MGM, and directing duties being handled by Roar Uthaug, which went on to make $274.7m on a $94m budget. However, due to MGM not exercising its option to retain the film rights toTomb Raiderby -at least- greenlighting a sequel project (similar to Sony andSpider-Man) up until May of this year, the studio will lose said rights, which are now up for grabs to the best bidder available in Hollywood.
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As reported by The Wrap, given MGM is now fully detached from the franchise, any newTomb Raiderfilms in the future would act as a wholly new reboot for Lara Croft, much like Vikander’s casting had nothing to do with the two movies starring Angelina Jolie in the early 2000s. For the sake of clarification, Square Enix parted with the film rights toTomb Raiderback in 2011 when King took hold of the property under his own production company, GK Films, which is now tasked with negotiating any future deals.
Despite receiving mixed to slightly positive reviews when it came out, 2018’sTomb Raiderwas mostly seen as a part of the larger wave of improvements in video game adaptations; particularly, Vikander’s portrayal of Lara Croft was quite welcome as a more faithful representation of theSquare’s ownTomb Raiderreboot from 2013. At the time of writing, MGM has not published any statements on the matter, and no actors have been named to potentially replace Vikander.
Earlier this year, Swedish tech giant Embracer Group got a hold ofTomb Raider’svideo game developer, Crystal Dynamics, as part of a larger acquisition from Square Enix, although at least on the gaming front the holding company has not been shy about planning futureTomb Raidersequels, remakes, remaster ort spinoffs. So far, the only confirmed game is set totakeTomb Raiderto Unreal Engine 5to explore many of the settings Lara Croft fans would love to see her in.
Unlike in the past, Lara Croft actually has some competition in gaming now, asHorizon’sAloy has emergedas a new and equally impressive female icon in video games.
MORE:The Last of Us: Biggest New Gameplay Features Coming in the PS5 RemakeSource:The Wrap
