Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft officially has a release date. The new anime starring one of gaming's most legendary characters will be arriving later this year on Netflix. The anime picks up after the events of the Tomb Raider video game trilogy, Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The games were developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montréal and published by Square Enix.
The series is written by Tasha Huo who will also serve as an executive producer alongside Dmitri M. Johnson, Howard Bliss, Stephan Bugaj, and Jacob Robinson.
Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft release date and plot
Lara Croft, a popular character in video games, has appeared in three live-action films, two starring Angelina Jolie and the most recent starring Alicia Vikander. Netflix is set to bring Lara to the small screen with Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Nearly a year after the first look was released for the show, Netflix has debuted a new Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft trailer with its release date.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is set to release on October 10 on Netflix. The animated series stars Hayley Atwell voicing the iconic adventurer. In addition to the trailer, Netflix provided some initial plot details while confirming that it will take place after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
Netflix describes the story as, "Following the events of the Survivor series, Lara Croft has abandoned her friends to embark on increasingly more perilous solo adventures. But she must return home when a dangerous and powerful Chinese artifact is stolen from Croft Manor by a thief with an uncanny personal connection. Her daring pursuit will take her on an adventure around the world and to the depths of forgotten tombs, where she will be forced to confront her true self, and decide just what kind of hero she wants to become."
During an interview about her 2023 film Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning hosted by The Movie Dweeb, about the animated Tomb Raider series, Atwell said, “The scripts are fantastic."
Atwell continued, "I’ve seen parts of the animation and when I’m doing it we’re in a booth, often in sweat-pants which is great because you don’t have to do glam but also don’t have to do all the physical things Lara does. You just have to grunt along in a sort of soundscape. Lots of breathing, leaving the session slightly hyper-ventilated.”
“It’s really poignant and funny and light and I’ve loved doing it. I think the thing they get so well is that they really understand the tone of it,” she added, further sharing, “They are pushing it forward into what the fans want but also a natural progression of where it could go next. I love it.”
The voice cast includes:
- Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft
- Allen Maldonado as Zip
- Earl Baylon as Jonah Maiava
Tom Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft's sequel approach is ideal for the Tomb Raider Show
The Legend of Lara Croft is set to release in a busy time for the franchise, with Amazon Games working on a new game reboot, tentatively titled Tomb Raider Next, and a Tomb Raider reboot movie and TV show in the works, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge developing the latter. The Survivor trilogy has concluded, and Amazon Games is working on a new design for the iconic adventurer.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, a sequel to the Survivor trilogy, offers a diverse range of design eras and storylines, allowing the creative team to move forward without retelling the titular adventurer's origin story or overemphasizing its connection to previous franchise incarnations. This approach allows viewers to see Lara in full adventurer form, while she navigates her role as a hero.
The other major benefit coming from Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft being a sequel to the Survivor trilogy is how it will resonate with those who played the previous games just as much as those who didn't. Baylon's return as Jonah is sure to lead to more thrilling character development between the two characters after their close bonding over the course of the previous three games.
Additionally, Powerhouse Animation can litter the show with Easter eggs referencing the previous games, much like they did with Netflix's Castlevania shows and the Monsterverse-connected Skull Island.