Lara Croft is coming back thanks toPhoebe Waller-Bridge.Tomb Raideralready tried two different times to shine on the big screen, and now will do so on television. The first one was back in the early 2000s with none other than Angelina Jolie playing the main character. In 2018, Alicia Vikander starred in a new movie that was set to kick off an entire franchise, but things changed.
Now that Amazon Studios owns MGM and all of its franchises, they’re developing a new universe around Lara Croft, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge in charge. The star ofFleabagis currently writing the script for a television show, but upcoming movies and even video games will connect with the same story.
After being part of big action franchises such asJames Bondand nowIndiana Jones, Waller-Bridge has learned a lot to add some interesting details to the franchise, which she was already a fan of.While speaking with Vanity Fair, the actress, writer, director and producer shared new details about her take on the project:
“God, it literally felt like that teenager in me saying: Do right by her, do right by Lara! The opportunity to have, as we were talking earlier, a female action character…. Having worked on Bond and having worked as an actor on Indy, I feel like I’ve been building up to this. What if I could take the reins on an action franchise, with everything I’ve learned, with a character I adore, and also just bring back some of that ’90s vibe? And it’s such a wonderful feeling to think you know what to do. I feel like when you’re working in the industry, you’ve got to ride the waves and lean in. There’s room to do something really quite dangerous. And if I can do something dangerous and exciting with Tomb Raider, I already have an audience of people who love Lara and hopefully will continue to. And that is a very unusual position to be in. It’s the old Trojan horse.”
Related:Tomb Raider: 8 Actresses Who Should Play the Next Lara Croft
Will Phoebe Waller-Bridge Become an Action Hero Herself?
Although no actress has yet been attached to the upcomingTomb Raiderreboot, many fans expect Waller-Bridge to take on the role of Lara Croft. But even if she doesn’t and just stays as the mind behind the story, she could still get a chance to star in her own action-packed franchise.
Despite the fact that James Mangold, director ofIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinysaid hewas not interested in doing a spinoffcentered on Helena, the character played by Waller-Bridge, things could definitely change in the future.
Disney, just like many other studios, is always willing to keep exploding their biggest franchises andIndiana Jonesis one of them. Although no one imagines someone who’s not Harrison Ford playing the famous archeologist, having a new character at the center of the story could be an interesting turn and a way not to replace the main star.
Until a few months ago, a television show following the adventures of a youngIndiana Joneswas reportedly in development at Disney+, so there are definitely intentions on expanding the franchise, it’s just a matter of finding the right story, and Waller-Bridge has proven to be more than capable to do that.
Helena Brody is the daughter of one of the most endearing characters in the entire saga, as well as Indy’s goddaughter, so her connection to the franchise’s mythology is more than enough for her to have her own story paying tribute to the original.
