Lara Croft movie actress Alicia Vikander has shared some new details on the upcoming Tomb Raider film. She tells HitFix that, as suspected, the film is indeed based on Crystal Dynamics’ 2013 Tomb Raider reboot. Vikander hopes the film can touch on the “emotional aspect” of getting to know the Lara Croft character, starting at the beginning.
“They told me they were doing the film based on the reboot of the game from 2013,” the Oscar-winner said. “That is more of an origin story. You get into an emotional aspect of getting to know Lara hopefully in an in-depth way. So I hope that doing a film of the rebooted game will bring something new and fresh that’ll stand on its own two legs.”
In March this year, director Roar Uthaug (The Wave) lauded the 2013 game and said his movie will try to do something similar, presenting Croft as a “real human being.”
“I think making Lara Croft feel like a real human being, that’s definitely something we want to bring to the big screen as well,” he said. “I think we’ll want to make people relate to Lara as a character. I’m hoping to bring some of my Norwegian sensibilities to the franchise.”
Vikander, who won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her part in The Danish Girl, also talked about playing the game in her youth. “I, with the rest of the world, was excited to see a female protagonist in a video game,” the 27-year-old said.
This isn’t the first time Vikander has talked about playing Tomb Raider. In June, she remarked that not many of her girlfriends shared her interesting in games.
“But I really loved it,” she explained at the time. “I did play Tomb Raider back then, even though my parents said I wasn’t allowed to.”
Specific story points for the new Tomb Raider are being kept under wraps for now, but we do know it’s beingwritten by Evan Daugherty (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Divergent).The project is a collaboration between four companies–GK Films, Warner Bros, MGM, and Square Enix.
The previous two Tomb Raider films–2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and 2003’s Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life–starred Angelina Jolie as the iconic British archaeologist.
Vikander also revealed in the HitFix interview that she turned down a role in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, due in part to scheduling concerns for her part in Jason Bourne.
The new Tomb Raider movie hits theaters on March 16, 2018. So far, no other casting announcements have been made.
In Tomb Raider gaming news, Square Enix this week announced Rise of the Tomb Raider 20 Year Celebration edition, which is coming to PlayStation 4 in October; most of its content will also be released for Xbox One and PC.