Alicia Vikander Excited To Work On Tomb Raider Sequel With Misha Green

Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander is excited to step back into the role of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2 with writer and director Misha Green. Green, who is best known as the creator of HBO’s recently canceled Lovecraft Country, has been attached to the sequel to Roar Uthaug’s 2018 Tomb Raider since January 2021. For Vikander, this would be her second outing as video game heroine Lara Croft, a role she took over from Angelina Jolie.

Tomb Raider 2 has been in the works for years but has faced a bumpy road forward. In April 2019,  it was announced that Amy Jump (Free Fire) had been hired to write the sequel, and a few months later Jump’s husband and frequent collaborator Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, Rebecca) came onboard to direct. Filming was scheduled to start in 2020 for a 2021 premiere, but the COVID-19 pandemic upended those plans and eventually, Tomb Raider 2 lost its release date and its director. The film’s fate was unclear until January 2021, when Green was announced as the new writer and director. Green has completed a draft of the script, and though Tomb Raider 2 has not yet been greenlit, Vikander has been vocal about her support for the project.

In a conversation with EW, Vikander spoke about her hopes for Tomb Raider 2 and shared her excitement about the chance to work with Green, whom Vikander describes as “an extremely talented woman” who “has done some incredible work.” Read her comments below:

“I hope we go and make another movie. Because of the pandemic, we had plans of shooting this film, and now it’s been one and a half years, but Misha Green is on board, and she’s writing a draft right now.

It’s pretty amazing — we’re, like, the same age! I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just now on a Zoom with an extremely talented woman that I think has done some incredible work.’ It would be so amazing if we get to go and do this very big-ass film together, going to kick some ass in front of the camera and behind the camera, you know?”

Vikander’s enthusiasm for the project seems to stem in part from appreciating the opportunity to portray the type of action-heavy role that has historically been played by men – a fact Vikander knows well, as she “grew up looking up at that kind of adventure movie.” She went on to give a glimpse into how much she enjoyed working on 2018’s Tomb Raider, and what she hopes for the sequel, saying, “If we get to go and do another one, I want to have as much fun as it was the last round.”

Many consider 2018’s Tomb Raider underrated, and though it received lukewarm reviews from critics, fans of the film had as much fun with it as Vikander did, praising the thrilling action sequences and Vikander’s gritty and grounded performance as Lara Croft. There is definitely an audience for the long-awaited sequel, and Green’s attachment gives another new and exciting layer to the possibilities. For many fans, one of the most intriguing aspects will be the chance to see a Tomb Raider film that is both written and directed by a woman, with Green echoing Vikander’s experience of stepping into a historically male-dominated space. Those disappointed by Lovecraft Country‘s cancellation will also likely be very excited to see what Green does next. Though nothing is certain at this point, Vikander and Green are on board, and fans will be encouraged to hear that Tomb Raider 2 is still very enthusiastically in the works.

Source: EW

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