When it comes to video game movies, 2018’s Tomb Raider did rather well. It might not have been as “iconic” as Angelina Jolie’s pair of live-action adaptations, but it did make more than $274 million at the global box office. This was enough for MGM Studios to bring Alicia Vikander back for a sequel. Unfortunately, four years later, it appears that Vikander’s time as Lara Croft will be short-lived.
According to a report by The Wrap, MGM has lost the rights to Tomb Raider films after a bidding war. As a result, the status of the Vikander-led Tomb Raider sequel is in limbo.
The Wrap explains that “a host” of Hollywood companies are in a bidding war for the rights to make Tomb Raider films. The same report added that other studios intend to reboot the films and cast someone else in the lead role.
Lara Croft is one of the most iconic video game heroines. She is more than deserving of a proper live-action adaptation. For what it’s worth, Vikander did her best to bring Lara Croft to life. If she’d gotten a shot at a sequel, we could gotten an improved version of the limber British archeologist.
Then again, we should have seen the cancelation coming. Even if MGM didn’t lose the rights, we haven’t exactly heard anything good from the production of Tomb Raider 2. Prior to the unfortunate news, the Tomb Raider follow-up had switched writers as well as directors twice. To make matters worse, Tomb Raider 2’s new director, Misha Green, revealed last July that MGM hasn’t officially greenlit Tomb Raider 2 yet.
@xfire.com Tomb Raider 2 might be canceled after MGM loses movie rights#TombRaider #TombRaider2 #AliciaVikander #AngelinaJolie #LaraCroft #MGMStudios
The silver lining here is that the expected live-action Tomb Raider reboot coincides with the upcoming Tomb Raider video game remake. Crystal Dynamics confirmed in April that it has started working on the next Tomb Raider game, which will use Unreal Engine 5. The Tomb Raider video game IP is currently owned by Embracer Group after the holding company acquired Square Enix’s foreign studios earlier this year.
