BEN WHEATLEY ON HIS REBOOTED TOMB RAIDER SEQUEL

[ 16 July 2023 ]

Ben Wheatley has spoken to Total Film on why his Tomb Raider motion picture sequel was not made. "Basically, they got stuffed by COVID-19. We were really close to doing it, and then it all just fell apart, as everything did." Ben Wheatley told Total Film via Games Radar.

Tomb Raider was rebooted in 2018 by Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures following two successful films starring Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie. Alicia Vikander starred as British aristocrat Lara Croft, under the direction of Roar Uthaug, with Oscar-winner Graham King producing under his GK Films banner. The film told the story of a young and resolute Lara Croft on a path toward becoming a global hero and has grossed more than 270M USD worldwide.

Ben Wheatley was originally attached to a Tomb Raider motion picture sequel before being replaced by Misha Green with Academy Award-winning actress Alicia Vikander set to reprise her role as Lara Croft. MGM subsequently lost the film rights, sparking a bidding war for the IP. Amazon has since reportedly won a massive rights deal for the Lara Croft-helmed franchise with a TV series and film planned.

Tomb Raider Motion Picture