Lara Croft swings back for more Tomb Raider with sequel in the works

It looks like the big screen version of Lara Croft could be swinging back into action. The commission of a sequel script to Tomb Raider has reportedly gotten the green light from Warner Bros. and MGM, after the studio revived the iconic video game hero last year for a new generation of fans.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, the followup to 2018’s reboot will be written by Amy Jump (Free Fire), and it’s presumed — though not yet confirmed by the studio — that Alicia Vikander would return to carry forward her role from the first film as the rebooted franchise’s Lara Croft. 

It’s not known whether director Roar Uthaug would return to helm the new movie, although THR notes that Jump has paired her writing talents in the past with director Ben Wheatley (as she did in Free Fire, Kill List, and High-Rise).

Following a lengthy lapse after Angelina Jolie’s original run as Lara Croft in the early 2000s, MGM sparked the landmark Square Enix video game back to life for its 2018 big screen return, with Vikander bringing a tough-yet-tender assertiveness to the reboot’s grittier, more realistic vibe.

While the first film polarized fans and critics alike, it eventually earned nearly $275 million worldwide against a production budget of $94 million — although it only managed to lure $58 million in domestic ticket sales.

But with the reboot demonstrating that fans still have a healthy appetite for Tomb Raider beyond video game consoles, and Vikander’s performance standing out as one of last year’s strongest roles for an independent, almost maverick female movie hero, the studio seems to have faith that Lara Croft still has plenty of appeal as the type of character who can ignite the imagination of anyone who craves big screen adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones.

Originally debuting for PC, PlayStation, and the SEGA Saturn in 1996, The Tomb Raider series introduced one of gaming’s most enduring and iconic female heroes, and Lara Croft has remained a staple of each generation of gaming consoles ever since. To catch up on her latest archaeological and supernatural exploits, check out last year’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which is still getting a generous stream of fresh DLC updates on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and MacOS.