Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2023
Netflix, Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix, and Legendary Television are teaming up for a brand new animated series based on the Tomb Raider video game franchise, with the new series due out in 2024.
Note: This preview is being updated over time to reflect new and changing information regarding the series. It was first published in early 2023 and was last updated in January 2024.
First announced alongside an anime project for Skull Island back in January 2021, Tomb Raider is one of many video game adaptations in the works at Netflix.
Tomb Raider as a franchise has been around since the mid-90s and has been one of the biggest gaming franchises in history. There have been 17 video games in the franchise, with another entry reportedly on the way. The game will be coming up to its 30-year anniversary in just three years (feel old yet?).
Three movies have been released so far based on the video game, including the two Angelina Jolie entries, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and The Cradle of Life, plus the more recent reboot starring Alicia Vikander came in 2018 with a sequel in development to be released by Warner Brothers.
At Netflix’s DROP-01 event in September 2023, we were finally given our first look at the upcoming anime series.
Now, let’s look deeper into the new Netflix series:
Table of Contents
- Who is involved in the Netflix Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft series?
- What is the plot of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft?
- Where is the production of the Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft series?
- What characters from Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft will appear in the Netflix series?
- When is Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft coming to Netflix?
Who is involved in the Netflix Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft series?
Heading up the writing staff is Tasha Huo, who is currently working on three projects, including Tomb Raider. The other two are Black Belle and Red Sonja for Millenium Films, which will star Hannah John-Kamen.
On the 25th Anniversary of Tomb Raider, Huo spoke about the forthcoming series, saying they’ll be “unifying the timelines of Tomb Raider” and transitioning “beyond the survivor trilogy.”
Next up for #TombRaider25 – exciting casting news brought to you by Tomb Raider anime series’ showrunner @Tasha3point0. Welcome @earlybgoode & @AMiseverywhere! pic.twitter.com/fopMS8pzlT
— Tomb Raider (@tombraider) October 28, 2021
Joey Soloway is reportedly directing episodes of Tomb Raider. They’re best known for their work on Amazon Prime’s Transparent.
Legendary Television is producing the series for Netflix alongside Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix, DJ2 Entertainment, and Tractor Pants.
The animation studio working on the project will be Powerhouse Animation Studios, which is behind Netflix’s Castlevania and most recently signed a first-look deal with Netflix. They operate out of Austin, Texas.
Powerhouse Animation Titles on Netflix
Howard K. Bliss, Stephan Vladimir Bugaj, Dmitri M. Johnson, and Jacob Robinson serve as executive producers.
What is the plot of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft?
In the early days, Netflix listed the project on its own site as a Japanese anime action series that is described as “a road trip adventure.”
Since then, Netflix has expanded its synopsis for the new series to be as follows:
“Picking up after the events of the highly successful Tomb Raider videogame Survivor trilogy as told in 2013’s Tomb Raider, 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider, and 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the animated series will chart the globetrotting heroine’s next chapter as she takes on the role of the iconic tomb raider that she is destined to become. Twenty-five years after her first game appeared, Lara Croft continues to explore new territory.”
Where is the production of the Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft series?
Writing concluded on the project in late May 2021, with Tasha Huo posting that they’ve concluded the writing process, meaning it’s now down to the animators and voice artists to bring the words on paper to life. They appropriately celebrated by throwing axes.
That’s a wrap on the writers room! Already missing this amazing #TombRaider writing crew. Felt appropriate we end it with axes. @LAAXofficial pic.twitter.com/wbIcuMeicV
— Tasha Huo, Dragonrider (@Tasha3point0) May 28, 2021
Throughout the writing process, several pictures were posted on X with the writers meeting via Zoom (it was being written during the COVID-19 pandemic).
Team #TombRaider Writers Assemble! @ShakiraPressley @TroyDangerfield and I take our Lara Croft action scenes very seriously. pic.twitter.com/x58u7v4rtM
— Tasha Huo, Dragonrider (@Tasha3point0) March 10, 2021
What characters from Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft will appear in the Netflix series?
Well, let’s begin with the obvious. Tomb Raider will obviously feature Lara Croft.
We learned on September 13th that Lara is set to be voiced by Hayley Atwell, who is best known for playing Peggy Carter in Captain America and her own stand-alone series, Agent Carter.
Hayley Atwell, cast as Lara Croft
One character that will be appearing in the Netflix series that we can confirm will be Zip.
Zip featured in both the original timeline and legend timeline but based on the cast listing, it appears the character in Netflix’s series will be more akin to the Zip seen in the Legends timeline.
Here’s his character synopsis for the new series:
“Hacker and tech geek. Zip was discovered by Croft Industries after he broke into one of their competitor’s databases. They recruited him and continue to pay him handsomaly.”
In October 2021, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the game, Square Enix announced that Allen Maldonado had been cast in the role of Zip.
Earl Baylon will be playing the role of Jonah Maiava in the Tomb Raider series. The voice actor has also voiced in Netflix’s Dynasty Warriors and Trese. Baylon notably voiced Jonah in the games.
Earl Baylon as Jonah
As we exclusively reported, we also understand that Ncuti Gatwa (Doctor Who, Sex Education) will appear in the show but only in season 2 (yes, we understand that the show has already been renewed), playing the role of Eshu.
When is Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft coming to Netflix?
There’s currently no confirmation from Netflix when Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is coming to Netflix beyond a 2024 release date window, which Netflix confirmed in an Anime 2024 preview video.
Speaking to Phase Zero, a podcast by the website ComicBook.com, Hayley Atwell provided a Summer 2024 release window.
That’s all we have on the new Tomb Raider anime series coming soon to Netflix; we’ll be sure to let you know more when we get it.
