Back in September, we reported thatKathryn Bigelow,Catherine HardwickeandMimi Lederwere Warner Bros. and MGM’s front runners to direct theirTomb Raiderreboot. Despite reports from earlier this summer that the studios were specifically seeking afemale director,Heat Vision Blogreports that Norwegian director Roar Uthaug (Cold Prey) has signed on to direct, withGeneva Robertson-Dworet(Transformers 5) coming aboard to rewrite the script. The screenplay had previously been worked on byHawk Ostby&Mark Fergus(Cowboys & Aliens),Evan Daugherty(Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) andMarti Noxon(Fright Night).
No plot details have been released yet, except that thisTomb Raider rebootwill feature a much youngerLara Croft, chronicling her first ever adventure.MGM is teaming up with Warner Bros.to produce and distribute the reboot with producerGraham King’s GK Films, which picked up the rights to the video game franchise from Square Enix back in 2011. GK Films partnered with MGM back in 2013, with Warner Bros. coming aboard earlier this year.
Angelina Joliestarred in the 2001 video game adaptationLara Croft: Tomb Raider, which is still the only video game adaptation to earn more than $100 million domestic with $131.1 million. She returned for the 2003 sequelLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, which took in significantly less at the box office than its predecessor, earning $65.6 million domestic. Both projects were distributed by Paramount Pictures.
The reboot is said to be on the fast track to production, but it isn’t known when filming may begin, especially considering a new writer has been brought on board to re-work the script. Warner Bros. and MGM haven’t set a release date at this time, and it isn’t known how closely this reboot may follow the video game series. The first game was released by Eidos in 1996 and became one of the most successful games of all time. The game franchise was rebooted in 2013, telling Lara Croft’s origins, so it’s possible the movie may be based on that game.
Roar Uthaug most recently directedThe Wave, which has made the short list of films in contention for Best Foreign Language Film at the2016 Oscars. His other directorial credits include Cold Prey, Escape andMagic Silver. WriterGeneva Robertson-Dworetlanded on the Black List in 2012 with her screenplayHibernation. This summer, she was part of the writers room that cracked the story forTransformers 5and a number of additional sequels and spinoffs. What do you think about the new writer and director forTomb Raider?
