Amazon MGM Studios has officially announced that “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner will portray Lara Croft in the upcoming “Tomb Raider” TV series. This confirmation puts to rest earlier reports suggesting her withdrawal from the project and the show`s potential cancellation.
Variety and other media outlets today corroborated the news that the “Tomb Raider” TV series is indeed moving forward. Amazon MGM Studios further revealed that principal photography is slated to commence in January 2026.
As previously disclosed, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, renowned for her work on “Fleabag,” is attached as the series` creator, writer, and executive producer. She is joined by Chad Hodge (“Single All the Way,” “Wayward Pines”) as co-showrunner and executive producer, with Jonathan van Tulleken, director of “Shogun,” stepping in as executive producer and director.
Waller-Bridge expressed her profound enthusiasm in a statement, saying: “Everyone on board is wildly passionate about Lara and are all as outrageous, brave, and hilarious as she is. Get your artifacts out … Croft is coming …”
Before Sophie Turner, the iconic adventurer Lara Croft was brought to life on the big screen by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander. Turner, for her part, conveyed her immense excitement and honor at taking on such a revered character.
She added, “They`re massive shoes to fill, following in the steps of Angelina and Alicia with their powerhouse performances, but with Phoebe at the helm, we (and Lara) are all in very safe hands. I can`t wait for you all to see what we have cooking.”
The “Tomb Raider” series for Prime Video initially received its green light under the leadership of Amazon MGM Studios boss Jennifer Salke. Salke later departed the company earlier this year amidst reports of internal power struggles, having personally overseen the development of the “Tomb Raider” project.
In March, Matthew Belloni of Puck reported that the “Tomb Raider” series faced significant development hurdles, going through multiple writers` rooms and incurring “tens of millions” of dollars in production costs.
Beyond the television series, Amazon is also set to publish the next “Tomb Raider” game from Crystal Dynamics. The studio recently underwent layoffs following the cancellation of “Perfect Dark,” though it was clarified at the time that the “Tomb Raider” game project remained unaffected. This new game is not expected to have any direct narrative connection to the TV series.