Lara Croft Readies an Arrow in New Tomb Raider Image

Lara Croft looks ready for action in a brand new still from the upcoming reboot, Tomb Raider. This new outing takes Lara back to basics, with the story finding her as a humble bike courier in London who sets off on an epic adventure to find her missing father, played by Dominic West.

Instead of being the capable adventurer seen in the original game series, this version of Lara Croft will be a relative newbie and must learn to survive and adapt during her quest. The movie will be closely based on the acclaimed 2013 video game reboot Tomb Raider, which also took place near the beginning of Lara’s tomb raiding career. It was a more grounded, grittier take on the series, and made Lara into a more human character.

The latest image from the film comes courtesy of Empire and shows Lara taking aim with a bow and arrow (see below) – which probably isn’t good news for whatever she’s aiming at. Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander inherits the title role from Lara’s previous big screen performer Angelina Jolie – and while Jolie drew good reviews for her spirited performance, the two movies she fronted were widely panned by both fans and critics. The new Lara Croft will be a far cry from Jolie’s, however, based on what Vikander told Empire:

“We asked, ‘What are the famous traits of this person?’ How can we demonstrate them in the story, but make her feel like a young woman in 2018?’”

This rebooted take on Tomb Raider will be doing its best to distance itself from Jolie’s take, but considering it’s nearly fifteen years on from those movies that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. It also helps the video game reboot this new adventure is drawing from was so strong, managing to inject fresh life into the series and the Lara Croft character.


There’s still the lingering issue of the video game movie curse though. Despite undeniable financial successes like the Resident Evil franchise and The Angry Birds Movie, the genre has yet to produce a genuine classic. Sadly, many of the movies turn out flat and stilted compared to their game counterparts, and many struggle to understand why the games worked in the first place. Not even recent efforts like Duncan Jones’ Warcraft or Assassin’s Creed with Michael Fassbender helped sway that opinion, with both receiving middling reviews and disappointing box office.


There’s still a chance this new Tomb Raider could prove to be a solid adventure. It’s got a great cast, including Vikander, Walton Goggins and Daniel Wu, plus director Roar Uthaug from the acclaimed 2015 drama The Wave. Fans are advised to remain cautious over Lara’s new adventure for the time being, but Tomb Raider could turn out to be a surprise blockbuster treat when it lands next March.