Phoebe Waller-Bridge is developing “Tomb Raider” for Amazon Prime Video
The video game series previously spawned three films starring Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander.
After starring in the upcoming “Indiana Jones and the Disc of Destiny,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge seems to have developed a taste for treasure hunting. The creator of the Emmy-winning “Fleabag” is reportedly developing a TV series adaptation of the popular “Tomb Raider” video game series for Amazon. The Hollywood Reporter reported on January 27.
The project is part of Waller-Bridge’s overall deal with Amazon, which it renewed earlier this month. The renewal also came with the news that Claudia Lux’s book “Sign Here” will be adapted into a series. Waller-Bridge will write the development project, but it will reportedly not star gun-toting adventurer Lara Croft. He serves as executive producer with Ryan Andolina and Amanda Greenblatt, former Amazon comedy and drama execs and general contracts, who have started their own studios but are under general contracts with Prime Video.
Amazon declined to comment on the news to IndieWire.
The “Tomb Raider” franchise began in 1994 with the original PlayStation action video game by British game studio Core Design. The main character of the series is Croft, an athletic and intelligent British archaeologist who travels the world in search of rare objects. Each game usually involves Croft on a new treasure hunt while battling rival hunters and enemies. The original game sold more than seven million copies, making it one of PlayStation’s best-selling games, and subsequent games have collectively sold more than 95 million copies worldwide. The series has spawned 12 mainline games and numerous spinoffs to date, with the most recent games being the well-received reboot trilogy helmed by Crystal Dynamics from 2013 to 2018.
The Croft character has already made it to live action twice. In 2001 and 2003, Paramount Pictures released Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its sequel, The Cradle of Life, starring Angelina Jolie. Both films did well at the box office, but received mixed critical reception. A reboot based on the 2013 trilogy was released by Warner Bros. in 2018, starring Alicia Vikander as Lara, to similarly mixed reviews. A sequel was in development but was completed in 2022 after MGM’s film rights to the video games expired.
In addition to the upcoming Indiana Jones film, Waller-Bridge will also star in John Krasinski’s 2024 film “If.” The “Fleabag” creator previously starred in the upcoming “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” Amazon series with “Solo” co-star Donald Glover, but reportedly left after creative differences. Waller-Bridge is repped by UTA, Hatton McEwan Penford, Independent Talent Group and Johnson Shapiro.
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