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Audio adventures: Hayley Atwell is Lara Croft in ‘Tomb Raider’ anime; first teaser for Jeffrey Wright’s ‘Batman’ podcast
Hayley Atwell's voiceover career is just getting started. After returning to the role of Peggy Carter in the series premiere of Marvel Studios' What If...? anthology, the actress will take on the character of Lara Croft in Netflix's upcoming Tomb Raider anime project.
The news was confirmed Monday via the Netflix Geeked Twitter account. Per the tweet — which you can see embedded below — the series (animated by Powerhouse Animation) takes place "after the event of Square Enix’s video game reboot trilogy, and will follow Atwell’s Lara Croft in her latest, greatest adventure."
Netflix's stab at the iconic treasure-hunting franchise was first announced back in late January as part of a larger partnership with Legendary Entertainment that also includes an anime spin on the mythology of Kong: Skull Island. The streaming titan previously teamed up with Legendary for Pacific Rim: The Black (now available on Netflix).
Atwell is also set to appear alongside Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the seventh Mission: Impossible film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (slated to hit the big screen on Sep. 30, 2022). A second live-action Tomb Raider movie with Alicia Vikander in the titular role is currently on the way from Lovecraft Country showrunner, Misha Green.
In another corner of the audio space, HBO Max has released a short teaser trailer for Batman: The Audio Adventures. Clearly inspired by the dynamic radio programs of the pre-television age, the podcast features another What If...? veteran, Jeffrey Wright, as the voice of Gotham's Caped Crusader.
Wright leads an incredible cast that also boasts the talents of Chris Parnell (narrator), Tim Meadows (Dr. Arkham), Seth Meyers (Jack Ryder), Kenan Thompson (Gotham PD Commissioner Jim Gordon), Jason Sudeikis (Gotham Mayor Hamilton Hill), Fred Armisen (King Scimitar), Melissa Villaseñor (Robin), Heidi Gardner (Harley Quinn/Miss Tuesday), Bobby Moynihan (Penguin), Brent Spiner (Joker), John Leguizamo (Riddler), Ike Barinholtz (Harvey Dent/Two-Face), Rosario Dawson (Catwoman), Alan Tudyk (Alfred), Brooke Shields (Vicki Vale), Paul Scheer (Mr. Charleyhorse).
Watch the trailer below:
"I've been a Batman fan since my childhood in the '70s, and in the decades since it's been fascinating to watch the Batman mythos evolve, from Saturday morning cartoons to Oscar-nominated film adaptations," the podcast's writer/director Dennis McNicholas (an Emmy-winning scribe on Saturday Night Live) told Entertainment Weekly, which premiered the teaser above. "At this point, there's a Batman for every taste, from dark and gritty to LEGO. But I've found there's no one adaptation of the myth that gives you a satisfying taste of Batman in all his many modes."
Ray Wise, Paula Pell, Ben Rodgers, Toby Huss, Pete Schultz, Katie Rich, and McNicholas himself are also a part of the voice cast, but their characters are undisclosed at this time.
Consisting of 10 episodes, Batman: The Audio Adventures debuts this coming Saturday (Sep. 18), which DC has officially christened as "Batman Day."
