UNEARTHING THE NEXT SAGA: Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Premieres This Fall

But as the winds of autumn signal a change of seasons, the digital entertainment industry prepares for another change. Starting 10 October, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is coming to Netflix, the next chapter in a storied history of animated adventures for filmgoers and TV viewers. The story of Lara Croft, the iconic character first conjured in video games at the beginning of the 1990s, has continued to resonate with audiences around the globe. Lara Croft has inspired two films, video games, mobile games, comics, novels, themed attractions, toys, collectibles and action figures. The series, featuring the voice of Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter from the Marvel Cinematic Universe) adds a new chapter to the legend of Lara Croft.

THE LEGEND CONTINUES: THE JOURNEY BEYOND THE GAMES

And Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft picks up where the bold, myth-shattering Survivor trilogy left off: concluding in August 2018 with the final chapter of that arc, the powerful and brilliant Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Over the course of those four games, Lara Croft becomes a survivor who, having tested her mettle, emerges an explorer – a person who is more than just a hard-as-nails survivor, and whose legacy weighs on her. The animated series continues the story arc over and above the games, but instead of cribbing from past Lara adventures, it provides its own original storyline about what it means for Lara Croft to be Lara Croft.

DELVING DEEPER INTO THE HEART OF A LEGEND

This series doesn’t just offer up an expansion of a culturally beloved franchise; it dives deeper into the core of what makes the character of Lara Croft compelling and enduring as a pop-cultural icon. Lara, played by Hayley Atwell, is strong, smart, and doggedly inquisitive, a presentation that’s proven irresistible with audiences. The latest adventure allows her to work through internal conflicts as much as external ones, and to grapple with the repercussions of her actions.

THE ARTIFACT AND THE ADVERSARY: A PERSONAL QUEST

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’s original premise framed her journey as a personal, and dangerous, quest. When a powerful Chinese artefact from the Croft collection is stolen from Croft Manor by a crook with a personal grudge, our game-heroine is forced to come to terms with her past, and with its lingering shadow on her modern-day life. What we end up with is a mix of high-voltage action, cerebral puzzle playing and emotional drama, as long buried themes of heritage, responsibility and redemption are unearthed.

A VOICE FOR THE LEGEND: HAYLEY ATWELL'S LARA CROFT

Lara Croft is coming back to gaming, and this time she’s played by Hayley Atwell. That’s right, the actress who has become known as the quintessential 20th-century woman – equally tough but never without a touch of elegance – by portraying Peggy Carter in films such as Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and TV series like Agent Carter (2015) and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021). One can only hope that Atwell further entwines the charm and grit of Carter with the toughness and vulnerability that have made Lara a role model and a brilliant heroine for a new era. The series, slated for the end of 2023, comes at a time when there is finally a demand for more game franchises to be led by women. From Horizon Forbidden West (2022) to God of War Ragnarök (2022), these truly brilliant games place women at the epicentre of the action. And in each, the protagonist is a well-rounded hero with layers and depth. In The Tomb Raider reboot in 2013, Lara Croft was vulnerable and full of insecurities. She was shown to be both an optimist in the face of unspeakable horrors and a pragmatist, even if it meant lying to her father on her 21st birthday and funding her archaeological exploits in the Pacific with the gold she found. She wasn’t about to let any male explorer pull the trigger on buried history.

ANIMATION: BREATHING LIFE INTO THE LEGEND

But the decision to render Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft as an animated series offers a fresh look at Lara’s world: vividly textured and stylised, the animated series is a medium that offers unexpected freedoms. The fantastical elements of Lara’s adventures — from monsters from legend to ancient ruins — are brought to life in vivid detail. And it offers opportunities to express emotions, from the smallest character nuances to the epic scope of the stories themselves.

FORGING AHEAD: THE FUTURE OF THE LEGEND

Even if Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft does not in itself merely take up the story of the games, it marks a turning point in the narrative of Lara Croft, a myth that has long dominated her character. In the run-up to its premiere, the series is a chronicle of the continuity between past and future, an acknowledgement of the Tomb Raider games that has opened up new storytelling avenues for the franchise.

UNVEILING THE ESSENCE OF LEGEND

Often reserved for stories that span the ages, filled with miracles, myth and the fantastic, legend is an apt word when describing Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft: a tale of action, intrigue and the modern, ancient epic battle between good and evil. As a new era of Lara beckons, the legend of Lara Croft continues to entertain, question and thrill. Some legends don’t only live on. They grow.