Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones, X-Men) will officially portray Tomb Raider‘s Lara Croft in Prime Video’s upcoming live-action series adaptation. The news was shared by Variety, alongside confirmation that production will officially begin on 19 January 2026.
Notably, the Tomb Raider series has been in development for quite some time, with work reportedly beginning in January 2023. Producers were given the green light in May 2024, but tangible news has been a long time coming, with Prime Video working alongside Crystal Dynamics to create an adventure that lives up to the Tomb Raider name.
To date, the franchise hasn’t had the best luck in live-action. While the original, Angelina Jolie-starring films are fondly regarded, this is largely a product of nostalgia – it’s worth saying that while they’re fun, they’re not ‘good’ in the tradition sense, and they don’t quite grasp the franchise’s brilliance. Alicia Vikander had slightly more success with 2018’s standalone Tomb Raider, but plans for this film to generate a blockbuster franchise were dropped when MGM’s franchise rights expired.
In the wake of this move, a ‘bidding war’ reportedly took place, with Prime Video eventually securing the rights to adapt the franchise. Phoebe Waller-Bridge was then corralled into duty, serving as the creator, writer, and executive producer on the series. Turner’s name was attached as early as December 2024.
Now, Variety reports producer Chad Hodge has boarded the Tomb Raider adaptation, becoming the co-showrunner alongside Waller-Bridge. Jonathan van Tulleken has also joined as director and executive producer.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Prime Video’s Tomb Raider
‘I’m so excited to announce the formidable Sophie Turner as our Lara alongside this phenomenal creative team,’ Waller-Bridge said, in a statement sent to Variety. ‘It’s not very often you get to make a show of this scale with a character you grew up loving. Everyone on board is wildly passionate about Lara and are all as outrageous, brave, and hilarious as she is. Get your artefacts out… Croft is coming…’
Sophie Turner provided her own statement on Tomb Raider, expressing her excitement about taking on such an iconic role: ‘I am thrilled beyond measure, to be playing Lara Croft. She’s such an iconic character, who means so much to so many – and I am giving everything I’ve got. They’re massive shoes to fill, following in the steps of Angelina and Alicia with their powerhouse performances, but with Phoebe at the helm, we (and Lara) are all in very safe hands. I can’t wait for you all to see what we have cooking.’
With production on Tomb Raider set to kick off in early 2026, we expect we’ll begin to hear more rumblings later next year. For now, it’s best to keep an ear to the ground as more news emerges.
Also on ScreenHub: 007 First Light is set to release in March 2026
IO Interactive’s 007 First Light will officially launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 on 27 March 2026. The news was revealed in a new PlayStation State of Play deep dive which featured a major gameplay reveal, as well as confirmation of the main cast (voice and motion capture).
As previously hinted, we know Patrick Gibson (Shadow and Bone, Dexter: Original Sin) will play James Bond in this iteration. He’ll be joined by Priyanga Burford (No Time to Die) as M, Alastair Mackenzie as Q, Kiera Lester as Miss Moneypenny, Lennie James (The Walking Dead) as John Greenway, Bond’s mentor, and Noemi Nakai (Tokyo Vice) as Miss Roth. A first glimpse at these roles was revealed in the PlayStation State of Play, which spotlighted two missions of varying flavours.
