Today, Netflix announced thatCaptain AmericaandAgent Carterstar Hayley Atwell will play Lara Croft in itsTomb Raiderseries, which picks up after the Square Enix reboot trilogy. For those who don’t know,Tomb Raiderwas rebooted with a video game that takes fans back to how Lara Croft became the dungeon crawler fans all know and love.
Netflix’sTomb Raiderseries will be in the style of an anime and comes from Powerhouse Animation, which is known for doing multiple projects including commercials (Oreo, Ruffles, Disneyland),video games (Darksiders 2 & Mortal Kombat X),and, of course, television (theCastlevaniaseries, Blood of Zeus, andMasters of the Universe: Revelation).
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As the voice of Lara Croft, Atwell will be the lead star ofNetflix’sTomb Raiderproject. Of course, Atwell is often recognized as Marvel’s Peggy Carter, so she has experience portraying more-than-capable women and, therefore, she will undoubtedly offer a great take on Lara Croft. The recentTomb Raidervideo game series was known for its insane amount of violence and having brutal ways for Lara to die. Since Powerhouse Animation is known forCastlevania,expect to see brutality at its peak in a show like this, especially considering it follows the recent video game trilogy.
Tomb Raiderstarted out on the original Playstationduring the era when 3D platformers were the new thing. For those who don’t know,Tomb Raidergames typically allow the player to jump across traps, jungles, rooftops and fight enemies using Lara’s iconic dual pistols. The games also had other weapons and techniques, including Lara Croft’s acrobatics that enable her to maneuver around enemies.
Castlevaniawas received well by both fans and newcomers alike despite being a niche video game series. It brought the world of Wallachia to the homes of many Netflix viewers and made the case for video games being able to translate into the television format. Video game movies are notoriously known for being awful, but the animated television format is appearing to be the way to go. It’s more difficult to translate the story from a video game format into the format of a movie script than it is for a television series. It’s even harder to make it live-action, astheTomb Raiderfilmshave shown.
Right now the best case for a live-action video game adaptation is Netflix’sThe Witcher,and that mostly works because it follows the books more than it does the games. Right now, there are plenty of video game projects pitched and in production to become adaptations for television and movies.
Tomb Raideris currently in development at Powerhouse Animation.
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