Movies and television have offered us no shortage of badass women, from Princess Leia to Xena and, more recently, Eleven from Stranger Things. But in the world of video games, one character stands out among all the others: Lara Croft, the geometric adventurer players controlled in the 1996 game Tomb Raider. She’s taken all sorts of forms in the nearly three decades since her introduction, from acclaimed reboot games to multiple movie spinoffs.
Now, in the spirit of Croft’s adventurous attitude, the franchise is moving to a new medium. The project has already recruited a proven star and an Emmy-award-winning showrunner, making this seem like an opportunity to once again revitalize the entire Tomb Raider universe.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner will officially take on the role of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, an upcoming Amazon Prime Video series. Phoebe Waller-Bridge will serve as creator, writer, and co-showrunner alongside Chad Hodge, and production will begin in January 2026.
It’s taken a long time for this series to get off the starting blocks. Waller-Bridge began developing it in 2023, and Amazon issued a series order in May 2024. By November, Turner’s name was mentioned as a possible star alongside Mackenzie Davis, Emma Mackey, and Lucy Boynton. However, after an executive change-up, rumors swirled earlier this year that the show would never come to fruition. This announcement debunks those claims, as live-action Lara will live on to raid more tombs.
While the character hasn’t appeared in a console game since 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider and hasn’t made a live-action appearance since Alicia Vikander took on the role in Tomb Raider that same year, Lara Croft is no stranger to streaming. In October 2024, animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft hit Netflix, with Hayley Atwell lending her voice to the heroine. It was renewed for Season 2 that same month.
Thanks to the success of Fallout, Amazon Prime Video has an established track record for live-action video game adaptations. With Waller-Bridge’s own TV chops and her experience working in the Indiana Jones franchise, she’s a strong fit to help develop the character. And now that Turner is involved too, the show can finally move forward and give Lara Croft the shot in the muscular arm she needed.
