Variety is reporting that the new Tomb Raider movie will make a running-jump into cinemas on March 16, 2018.
The upcoming action-adventure film is set to reboot Lara Croft’s silver-screen antics, and will star Alicia Vikander as the iconic pistol-wielding archaeologist. The actress is perhaps best known for her role in Ex Machina.
The previous Tomb Raider movies starred Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, beginning with 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life in 2003. Neither film was a critical darling, although the original was a considerable box office success.
The Tomb Raider video game franchise itself was rebooted three years ago with the eponymous action-adventure title for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was later ported to modern consoles as Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition.
Crystal Dynamics’ follow-up, Rise of the Tomb Raider, is due to hit PlayStation 4 this winter following a year’s exclusivity with Microsoft’s Xbox One.
Tomb Raider series turns 20 this year as Rise of the Tomb Raider prepares to make its PS4 debut
Launched in 1996, Tomb Raider first appeared on the Sega Saturn and was later released on the PlayStation, becoming synonymous with Sony’s 32-bit powerhouse system. The success of the original game resulted in two massively popular sequels: 1997’s Tomb Raider II and 1998’s Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft.
By this point in time, the series started to lose a bit of steam, with Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider: Revelations rounding out the original PlayStation series.
Despite a huge misfire with the critically panned Tomb Raider and the Angel of Darkness on PlayStation 2 in 2003, the series made a successful comeback with Crystal Dynamics at the helm, who produced Tomb Raider Legend, which became the fastest-selling title in the series with 4.5 million copies sold.
The developer went on to work on Tomb Raider Anniversary and Tomb Raider Underworld before rebooting the series with the aforementioned 2013 title. To date, the Tomb Raider series has sold over 45 million copies worldwide and marks its 20th anniversary this November.