Summary
The TV adaptation of the long-running video game franchise,Tomb Raider, is reportedly facing some concerning development issues at Amazon. Starting off its perpetual life in the video game world in 1996, the epic action-adventure starring fearless archaeologist Lara Croft was developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. Initially released on the Sega Saturn,Tomb Raiderwas then developed for MS-DOS as well as for the PlayStation.
As many gamers will know,Tomb Raiderhas been a staple in the gaming world for many years now, and even though Croft has changed quite a bit with each release in the series, the daring character has continuously remained an incredible heroine, in which her development has seen many positive alterations, especially regarding her once controversial appearance. With something as popular asTomb Raider, movie spin-offs were always on the cards. Its most recent live-action adaptation was in 2018, which starred Alicia Vikander, but sadly, the film wasn’t a big success at the box office, throwing the future of its adaptations into the wind. Thankfully, in May 2024,Amazon ordered a new live-actionTomb Raiderseriesas part of its deal with game developer Crystal Dynamics with Phoebe Waller-Bridge guiding the ship. However, it seems as though the series is now facing trouble at Prime Video.
Prime Video’s Tomb Raider TV Series Might Be In Development Hell
According to a report onPuckby Matthew Belloni, a former editor of The Hollywood Reporter,theTomb RaiderTV adaptation TV series is seemingly struggling behind the scenes, with progress on the series having remained stagnant for three years.Belloni says that Prime Video has paid out tens of millions of dollars on developing the TV show but “still has nothing to show for it.” Former Amazon MGM executive Jen Salke, who is no longer with the company, personally oversaw theTomb Raiderproject and signed Waller-Bridgefor a $20 million-a-year development deal in 2019 but according to the article, the creator ofFleabaghas yet to get the series off the ground.
“Still, my favorite Salke move was giving Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the breakout creator ofFleabag, a $20 million-a-year overall deal in 2019. Sure, the TV business is littered with failed overalls, but when Waller-Bridge generated nothing in three years, Salke renewed the deal. Now, three years after that renewal, she still has nothing to show for it.Tomb Raider, which Waller-Bridge has been working on and which Salke was personally overseeing after announcing a series pickup last May, has now gone through two writers rooms and tens of millions of dollars in development costs. There’s still no script.”
The TV series has also gone through two writers rooms with still no signs of a completed script. Belloni didn’t touch on whetherGame of Thronesstar Sophie Turner would still star as Lara Croft, but so far, there’s no intention that she has left the project and seems to be currently attached. Even though story details for theTomb Raiderseries haven’t been revealed, theKilling Evewriter seemed very eager to get stuck in asTomb Raiderwas a huge part of her life, as Lara Croft meant a lot to her because she had grown up with the character. This news seems surprising since Jen Salke toldVarietyin October last year that “Phoebe is well into it” when asked about the show’s progress. Even amid various delays, including Waller-Bridge going “off to do a movie,” Salke said, “we think it’s going to be a huge franchise for us.”
It could be that Waller-Bridge’s other obligations have eaten into her time withTomb Raiderand the development process is merely taking longer than it should, with things set to pick up again in the immediate future. However, Amazon Prime Video might not want to play the waiting game and could even look to find another writer to head the adaptation. Hopefully, some positive news on theTomb RaiderTV series is peaking over the horizon.
