Prime Video‘s live-action Tomb Raider project could be adding some significant star power to the mix, as Deadline reports that Sigourney Weaver (Avatar: Fire and Ash, Ghostbusters, Aliens) is in talks to join the anticipated series. While the deal is not yet iron-clad, Weaver could join the series, written and executive produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, starring Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) as Lara Croft.
Who are the creative forces behind Prime Video’s Tomb Raider series?
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is the creator, writer, and executive producer of Amazon’s Tomb Raider series. Meanwhile, the project is a collaboration between Story Kitchen, Crystal Dynamics, and Amazon MGM. Chad Hodge (Single All the Way, The Playboy Club, Wayward Pines) and Jonathan Van Tulleken (Shōgun, Dope Thief) are executive producers. In addition to executive producing, Tulleken will direct the production. Production begins on my birthday, January 19, next year.
Waller-Bridge and Jenny Robbins executive produce via Wells Street Productions; Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg, and Timothy I. Stevenson through Story Kitchen; Michael Scheel; Hodge; and Legendary Television.
Amazon greenlit Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider series in May 2024, with Turner circling the role six months later.
What to expect from Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider series
Speaking about the series last year, Amazon MGM Studios Head Jennifer Salke said Waller-Bridge’s adaptation is an “epic” and “globe-trotting” passion project that the studio is eager to tackle. Echoing Salke’s excitement, Waller-Bridge said, “If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she’d explode. Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television with such passionate collaborators. Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats’ n all.”
“God, it literally felt like that teenager in me saying: do right by her, do right by Lara,” Waller-Bridge said when Amazon approached her about the Tomb Raider series. “The opportunity to have, as we were talking earlier, a female action character…. Having worked on Bond and having worked as an actor on Indy, I feel like I’ve been building up to this. What if I could take the reins on an action franchise, with everything I’ve learned, with a character I adore, and also just bring back some of that ’90s vibe? And it’s such a wonderful feeling to think you know what to do.”
Initially, the role of Lara Croft was a toss-up between Sophie Turner and Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody), with names like Emma Corrin and Mackenzie Davis falling out of the competition.
I was already excited about Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider series, but if Weaver joins the cast, I am all the way there. While Weaver’s role remains unknown, I could easily see her slipping into the part of a rival relic hunter hellbent on making Lara’s mission miserable. We’ll need to wait for more details, but I’m stoked!
