Phoebe Waller-BridgePhoto: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Turner
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who has just starred in the upcoming Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny, is preparing to throw her talents at the other notable gun-and-treasure-hunting pop culture archaeologist: professional Tomb Raider Lara Croft.
This is according to THR, which reports that Waller-Bridge is developing a new TV version of the long-running Tomb Raider media franchise – which got its start in games but has made several semi-successful forays into movies over the years, mostly recently with Alicia Vikander in 2018 – on Amazon. To be clear, Waller-Bridge apparently has no plans to star in the series; this will be more like her work on Killing Eve, where she limited herself to a behind-the-scenes role as writer and showrunner for the show’s first season.
News of the Tomb Raider show comes a year and changes after Waller-Bridge’s departure from another high-profile Amazon action show: The Adaptation of Mr. And Mrs. Smith, which she compiled along with her solo: A Star Wars Story. Star Donald Glover. (Glover remains associated with the series; Waller-Bridge departed in late 2021 citing creative differences.) Outside of Indiana Jones, Waller-Bridge has mostly stayed behind the camera lately; She also co-wrote the final Daniel Craig Bond film No Time To Die and is developing another show on Amazon, an adaptation of Claudia Lux’s book Sign Here.
This isn’t the first time efforts have been made to bring Tomb Raider out – and if you’re unfamiliar, just read the title again; The whole premise is basically there – on the small screen. An animated series with Minnie Driver as the global relic hunter Lara was produced in 2007 for the online gaming service GameTap. Meanwhile, Netflix announced its own anime-style animated adaptation of the franchise back in 2021, with Hayley Atwell voicing the main character; no word on when, if ever, this show will see the light of day or how Amazon’s new live-action series will affect its creation.