It’s been 2 years since Amazon announced the would e making a live-action series, which effectively killed the sequel to the 2018 “Tomb Raider” movie. Since then Amazon has spent tens of millions of dollars on the projects development, they had Sophie Turner set to star, but now the project is seemingly “dead” according to multiple insider sources.
Although there hasn’t been any official confirmation, it’s worth noting that the series’ potential star, Turner, is booked solid through the year. Amazon had planned on building an MCU-esque cinematic universe that went hand-in-hand with video games, with one insider claimed that the Tomb Raider Universe was Amazon’s second biggest franchise aside from “Lord of the Rings”, but those plans seem to have changed – especially with the success Amazon has had with video game adaption “Fallout”.
Amazon had planned on building an MCU-esque cinematic universe that went hand-in-hand with video games…
One of the big mysteries about this story is the lack of a script for the Tomb Raider series when “Fleabag” Writer/Creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge was paid an estimated 100 million dollars for her deal with Amazon and has barely any work to show for it. Is this case of writer’s block? Did Amazon give Waller-Bridge too much freedom and not enough oversight? Amazon head Jennifer Salke was the one who greenlit the project, but with her gone, where does that leave the Tomb Raider franchise?
From the outside it seems the “Fleabag” creator took a ton of money ad didn’t deliver anything substantial, but there are always two sides to a story…at least 2 sides. Within days of her gaining popularity for her series “Fleabag”. she was given one of the most lucrative deals in Hollywood – but who’s accountable now after years of little to no actual scripts seeing the light of day?
Were Amazon execs too stifling to Waller-Brdige’s creative process behind the scenes? There are no reports of that. but anything is possible. It does seem that for now, Amazon MGM will focus on other franchises in their attempt to reinvent themselves after a less than stellar last few years.
What do you think? Is Tomb Raider the franchise we need? Can the series or the planned universe be saved? Let us know in the comments below!