Home Entertainment TOMB RAIDER reboot director confirms new film will be an origin story following recent games

TOMB RAIDER reboot director confirms new film will be an origin story following recent games

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When it comes to the feature film adaptations of popular video game series Tomb Raider, the previous two movies were decent enough bits of cinematic rumpus with a perfectly cast Angelina Jolie as archaeologist adventurer Lara Croft. I do have an inexplicable soft spot for them (it must be the fantastic soundtracks), but I’ll be the first to admit that they’re not exactly great films.

And the same could have been said of the Tomb Raider video game franchise itself a few years ago: where it had once been the pinnacle of its genre, it had become a bit tedious. That was until 2013 when a brand new game rebooted the character, telling the grueling origin story of a young Lara, way before she would ever become the cocksure ass-kicker we would eventually get to know. This change in pace gave us an emotional story and layered character that was far more than just the brown shorts and dual pistols that had become Lara’s trademark.

And it appears that MGM’s upcoming Tomb Raider feature film reboot paid close attention to the success of that game and will be following in its footsteps. IGN spoke to Roar Uthaug, the Norwegian director who really made a big splash (sorry, couldn’t resist) internationally last year with his tsunami disaster movie The Wave, and was subsequently tapped to helm the new Tomb Raider movie. Uthaug confirmed that the movie will also be an origin story and praised the game for making Lara as relatable as it did, which is something he plans to do as well.

“I think making Lara Croft feel like a real human being, that’s definitely something we want to bring to the big screen as well. I think we’ll want to make people relate to Lara as a character. I’m hoping to bring some of my Norwegian sensibilities to the franchise.”

Uthaug is a self proclaimed fan of the Tomb Raider series and the character of Lara Crofy, saying that he’s been playing the series since the first game in 1996, which is why he never hesitated to sign on.

“I’ve always been a fan of strong female characters and I think I’ve had strong female characters in all my previous movies, so that’s something I thought was interesting.”

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The Wave was undoubtedly Uthaug’s biggest movie to date, which is great practice now that he’s jumped full-time into the Hollywood ring. Especially since it’s another Hollywood classic that is acting as one of his primary influences for this movie.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of my favorite films growing up, so it’s definitely a dream to work in that kind of genre. I think we’ll want to make it feel like a modern action movie and to make what’s going on feel like it’s going on for real.”

So a Raiders of the Lost Ark type adventure story with the same kind of emotional intensity of the latest rebooted Tomb Raider video games? That sounds incredible! Now if only Uthaug and the rest of the suits at MGM and Warner Bros can finally pick a young actress to take up the reins of Lara Croft. Personally, I’d pick Daisy Ridley for the job. What do you guys think?

Last Updated: March 10, 2016

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