Lara Croft will be back. According to Deadline, MGM has set up a sequel to the 2018 reboot of the franchise, with Ben Wheatley (High-Rise, Free Fire), set to direct, and with Alicia Vikander set to reprise her role as the film’s title character.
The 2018 film (really? It only came out last year?) picked up mixed reviews when it hit theaters, and is based on the 2013 video game, itself a reboot of the Square Enix franchise, designed to reveal the origins of the famous treasure hunter. The film also helped reboot the film franchise—Angelina Jolie played Lara Croft in a pair of earlier adaptations in 2001 and 2003.
The 2018 film followed Lara Croft as she searched for her missing father after discovering a video that he left following his disappearance. It leads her to an island in the South Pacific, where she discovers a shadowy organization looking for a dangerous artifact.
Like most franchise-aimed films, the reboot left open plenty of space for a sequel and set up the possibility of new adventures. Deadline reports that screenwriter Amy Jump (who wrote Wheatley’s prior films) will pen the screenplay, and that production on the project will kick off “early next year.” MGM said that the movie will hit theaters on March 19th, 2021.
