The first picture of Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft from the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot has arrived, along with a lengthy plot synopsis, which explains how this is going to be different from Simon West’s Angelina Jolie-starring effort. Which we’ve definitely seen, by the way, but cannot remember for the life of us.
This new take promises to be more closely tied into the rebooted series of games, which took a much more grounded and gritty approach. It’s directed by Roar Uthaug, who last gave us the Norwegian box-office smash disaster movie The Wave, as well as the underrated slasher movie Cold Prey.
It’s written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, who is highly in demand right now and also working on the scripts for Gotham City Sirens, Sherlock Holmes 3 and Dungeons & Dragons, among others. This will be the first of her screenplays to hit the big screen.
OK, here’s that plot synopsis:
“Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent, and takes college courses, rarely making it to class. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father’s global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he’s truly gone.
Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can’t understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death.Going explicitly against his final wishes, she leaves everything she knows behind in search of her dad’s last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan. But her mission will not be an easy one; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. 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.”
Uthaug enthuses about the possibilities that come with an origin story in his director’s statement, saying that:
“Being a longtime fan of the game, it’s important to me to honor the Lara Croft legacy and capture that spirit. It’s great to know that there’s such a passionate global fan base for Lara and her world, and our commitment to that will be evident in our movie. What’s different about this Tomb Raider movie is that it’s an origin story for the big screen, focusing not only on Lara’s strength and physical accomplishments but her humanity. We see Lara as a young woman, smart and capable but largely unfocused, and follow her on a dangerous journey that will push her to her limits in every sense, and allow her to hone the skills she needs to ultimately become who she was meant to be. As Lara Croft, Alicia Vikander is brilliant. She brings great depth to a complex role that is both physically and emotionally demanding. We hope this film will delight fans around the world and add another intriguing chapter to the Tomb Raider story.”
Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West and Alexandre Willaume.
Tomb Raider is released on 16 March 2018. Keep up with the latest genre news with the new issue of SciFiNow.
