Vanity Fair has debuted the first Lara Croft photos from the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, featuring Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Ex Machina) as the title hero. They’ve also revealed a detailed plot synopsis, which you can read below, and be sure to check out the Lara Croft photos in our gallery!
Official plot synopsis: “Seven years after the disappearance of her father, 21-year-old Lara has refused to take the reins of his global business empire, instead working as a bike courier in London while taking college classes. Eventually she becomes inspired to investigate her father’s disappearance and travels to his last-known location: a tomb on an island somewhere off the coast of Japan. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name Tomb Raider.”
“When I was asked to take on this role I got really excited—Lara Croft is a truly iconic character,“ Vikander stated. “I think people can identify with her for lots of different reasons, but for me I very much see her as a model for many young women. She’s trying to carve out her place in the world and connect her future with her past. She also has a fantastic mix of traits—tough, smart, vulnerable, plus she’s kick ass! She is also uniquely different to other characters I have taken on previously. It’s a lot of fun trying to get into Lara’s head and the challenge of getting to grips with such a physical role is an element of this project that I find an absolute thrill.”
Vikander is joined in the film by Dominic West (The Wire, Punisher: War Zone) as her father, Into the Badlands star Daniel Wu as a ship captain helping Lara Croft find her father, and Emmy-nominated actor Walton Goggins (Justified, The Hateful Eight) as the main villain.
Roar Uthaug will direct the film, which has a script by Transformers: The Last Knight scribe Geneva Robertson-Dworet.
The original Tomb Raider game was published in 1996 by the London-based video game company Eidos and became one of the most successful video games of the time. A reboot of the series, telling the origin of Lara Croft, was released in 2013 and sold over 5 million copies. The most recent game, titled Rise of the Tomb Raider, is available now.
Paramount Pictures previously made two movies about the daredevil archaeologist on a series of global missions. The films, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, starred Angelina Jolie and grossed a combined $432 million at the worldwide box office.
Tomb Raider will be distributed by Warner Bros. with MGM. They will produce the film with GK Films. The new Tomb Raider movie is scheduled to hit theaters March 16, 2018.
