MGM probably loses film rights, future of the series unclear

The latest Tomb Raider movie did well at the global box office, but a sequel has yet to get the green light. This isn’t likely to change any time soon either, because MGM is said to no longer own film rights.

2018 started with the simple “Tomb Raider” The cinema film mentioned is a reboot of the series, which is clearly based on the first part of the latest games trilogy about video game icon Lara Croft. Although a sequel has reportedly been in the works behind the scenes for some time, the future of the series now seems uncertain because, according to an exclusive report by The Wrap Film studio MGM is said to have lost the film rights to the franchise.

Unanswered questions: No Tomb Raider 2? Alicia Vikander out as Lara Croft?

Based on this report, the film magazine learned from its industry contacts that MGM had until May 2022 to give the green light to a new film based on the games brand. However, since this was not the case, the company lost the corresponding rights to the IP. Now a bidding war for the license is said to have broken out, as several Hollywood studios are interested in the project.

In addition, Oscar winner Alicia Vikander (“The Danish Girl”), who played Lara Croft in the last “Tomb Raider” movie, will not slip into the legendary role again. The next film will be a full reboot, according to insiders, and the new license holders are not required to retain any cast or film crew previously associated with the production to reboot the series.

Most recently, Vikander made a statement a few weeks ago in an interview with the Entertainment Weekly on the status of a potential “Tomb Raider 2”. In it, the actress revealed the film would be in a kind of limbo. The reason for this is probably the takeover of the film studio MGM by Amazon in March 2022 for 8.5 billion US dollars (via Variety). “With the acquisition by MGM and Amazon, I have no idea. Now it’s a kind of politics.”

Misha Green, who wrote and directed the HBO series Lovecraft County, is said to have worked on a possible Lara Croft sequel. In the interview, Vikander gushed, “I was looking forward to showing it to the world […]. I love what she did with Lovecraft Country. […] I hope we make another movie. Because of the pandemic we were planning to make this film and it has now been a year and a half but Misha Green is on board and writing a draft of the script right now.”

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Tomb Raider grossed around $273.48 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $90 million (via The Numbers). Alicia Vikander played the lead role of a young Lara Croft who is stranded on a supposedly deserted island and discovers an ancient secret there. Roar Uthaug (“Cold Prey”) directed it, while Geneva Robertson (“Captain Marvel”) and Alastair Siddons (“Small Axe”) wrote the screenplay.

The film rights to the “Tomb Raider” franchise are currently said to be owned by the Embracer Group, which took over both the IP and the responsible studio Crystal Dynamics, together with other well-known game developers and brands, this year for 300 million US dollars. Shortly after the deal was announced, the new owners said they saw great potential in the iconic games franchise. According to The Wrap, Embracer is said to have recently reached an IP remarketing deal with GK Films (“The Departed”), which acquired the film rights from Square Enix in 2011.

The future of the “Tomb Raider” franchise on the big screen seems unclear at first. For this, Lara Croft fans can look forward to it an animated series which is being created at Studio Powerhouse Animation (“Castlevania”) and will run exclusively on Netflix. The show’s plot will officially be part of the canon of the latest games trilogy and will take place after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

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