Lara Croft has taken one small step toward returning to the big screen today, with The Hollywood Reporter bringing word that the long-gestating Tomb Raider reboot has found a director in Roar Uthaug (The Wave).
Setting up shop at Warner Bros. in partnership with MGM, today’s confirmation arrives in tandem with the news that Transformers 5 co-writer Geneva Robertson-Dworet has entered negotiations to pen the screenplay for the video game adaptation. Before coming aboard, the script has seen drafts by a collection of writers including Evan Daugherty, Marti Noxon and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby.
Billed as a total reboot of the IP, the studio’s vision for a modern Tomb Raider overhaul will no have affiliations to the Angelina Jolie-fronted duo of films that released in 2001 and 2003. Taking point of the rights to the series is GK Films, after acquiring the license from Square Enix back in 2011, and today’s news is the first tangible sign of progress in quite some time.
Prior to the appointment of Uthaug, early reports suggested that Warner and MGM had their crosshairs set on a female director for the gig, narrowing it down to a shortlist that included Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker/Zero Dark Thirty), Catherine Hardwicke of The Twilight Saga and Mimi Leder (The Leftovers, Deep Impact). Alas, it appears all involved have settled on Roar Uthaug.
Back in vogue following the release of Crystal Dynamics’ acclaimed sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider, now is an opportune time for Warner Bros. and MGM to get the ball rolling on their own rendition of the beloved archaeologist. Now comes what is arguably the more difficult part in Tomb Raider‘s return to the silver screen: finding a suitable actress to play Miss. Croft.