It’s been rumored for months, and now we can finally confirm it as a concrete fact; there will be a second Tomb Raider movie starring Alicia Vikander coming to the big screen, and it’s about to enter pre-production soon. The first rumblings about the possibility of a sequel to the 2018 film were heard at the start of summer, and the news was finally confirmed in September. Further details are now beginning to emerge, and we’re happy to be able to share them with you here.
We don’t mind saying that we’re huge Lara Croft fans. The first ‘Tomb Raider’ video game, released all the way back in 1995, was a big favorite during our youth. When we got a little older, we even followed Lara into mobile slots. She’s been swinging across the mobile slots reels in ‘Lara Croft: Temples and Tombs’ since a little earlier this year. Just the fact that the character works in the world of casino slots is evidence that she has an adult fanbase, and it’s adults who will likely be buying tickets for the new movie. When the film franchise was in the hands of Angelina Jolie almost two decades ago, they were child-friendly, universally appealing movies. 2018’s release was much darker and grittier, and we expect the same tone for the as-yet-untitled sequel.
Perhaps the most surprising announcement about the film so far is the identity of the person in the director’s chair. The 2018 film was directed – very competently; we might add – by Roar Uthaug. Despite the praise he received for his interpretation of the character and the world she inhabited, Uthaug will not be involved in the sequel. It’s not known at this stage whether he declined the opportunity, or the studio decided to move in another direction.
In his place will be Ben Wheatley; a director who is far better known for his British cult movies than he is Hollywood blockbusters. Wheatley’s biggest hits to date have been quirky, offbeat, arthouse films like Sightseers and Kill List. He’s also directed two episodes of cult British science fiction show ‘Doctor Who.’ There is nothing anywhere on his resume that looks anything like Tomb Raider, and so his appointment has to be seen as a significant risk on the part of MGM. We can only assume that the Brit has supplied the production company with an exciting vision, and the studio decided to give him a chance.
The main objective will be to improve on the financial performance of the prior Tomb Raider film. While it wasn’t a disappointment, it also wasn’t a huge hit. From a budget of approximately $100m, it made a return of $275m. That’s more than enough to cover the costs and deliver some profits, but not enough to get the studio excited. In fact, it’s the exact same amount as the second Angelina Jolie-led’ Tomb Raider film made back in 2001. When you consider that there were seventeen years of inflation between the films, it’s impossible to escape the feeling that the movie underperformed.
What we might see on this occasion is something we haven’t seen before; a direct connection between the movie in the video game. Obviously, the films have always been based on and inspired by the adventures of Lara within the ‘Tomb Raider’ video games, but the movies have always had a standalone plot. Nothing that happens in the games is replayed in the movies, and vice versa. This time, we have reason to believe that things might be different – and it’s all down to a matter of timing.
The latest video-game incarnation of ‘Tomb Raider’ is 2018’s ‘Shadow of The Tomb Raider,’ which is now at the end of its lifespan as a game. No further downloadable content is being made available for it, and therefore Square Enix has likely already started work on the next game. If we’re right, it will be the first appearance of Lara Croft on the next generation of video game consoles; there are new models of both the PlayStation and the Xbox due out at some point in 2020. The new movie is slated for release at some point in 2021. That’s also around the time a new video game would be likely to hit the stores. Could it be that the movie is based on the game, or the game is based on the film?
Aside from that, information regarding the film is being protected on a ‘need to know basis, and at present, it would appear that the media don’t need to know! Vikander is already under contract, and will likely be looking to get her career back on track. She was expected to use her starring role as a platform for bigger and better things. Instead, she’s done almost nothing in terms of acting work since filming wrapped on the last movie. She’s appeared in a couple of shorts, but ‘Tomb Raider 2’ will be her biggest credit since ‘Tomb Raider.’ She’ll be hoping for better things this time around.
Kristin Scott-Thomas has also been confirmed as appearing in the film, which means her delightful villain Ana Miller will also be coming back. Scott-Thomas was the perfect foil for Vikander in the first movie, and given the relationship between the characters, we should expect some more revelations and backstory about who and where Lara was before she became a tomb raider. One of the main weaknesses of movies based on video games in the past is that the central characters, devoid of a detailed history, come across as two dimensional. The previous film did an excellent job of addressing this, and there’s now a solid foundation to build upon.
As there are two years to go before we get to see the film, there’s plenty of time for more information to leak and drip into the press. We expect to get further casting information soon, and perhaps even some ideas about the plot, which has been scripted by Amy Jump and Alastair Siddons. When we do, we’ll make sure we’ll bring it straight to you right here on our website. Stay tuned!
