We’ve recently reported, as rumor, that a Tomb Raider movie reboot might be in the works, but now we have confirmation from the studio. In addition, the video game franchise is receiving the same treatment.
GK Films has announced that they have secured the rights to the Tomb Raider film franchise, and that the movie is planned for a 2013 release. No word on Olivia Wilde’s involvement in the project, but we can always hope.
In addition, it’s been revealed that both the new movie and the upcoming “Tomb Raider” video game (announced back in December) will focus on Lara Crofts origin story.
“We are very excited to be rebooting what is already a hugely successful film franchise and continuing the ‘Tomb Raider’ phenomenon,” said the film’s producer, Graham King.
The movie is already being referred to by the studio as a reboot, but no word on the canon interactions of the game.
It could just be a prequel, but this seems unlikely considering the timing, the title, and judging from the artwork which has been released so far, in which Lara looks much different (less breasty, more rumpled?)
Likely, Crystal Dynamics, the Square Enix subsidiary which is currently in charge of the “Tomb Raider” games, will want to take this opportunity to unify the canon between the films and the games.
We’ve seen this happening more and more lately, especially in properties where the canon is deep, and meaningful to the audience, most notably in Star Wars canon.
Once there was a time when a Star Wars game was just a Star Wars game, but the most recent games (with the exception of LEGO Star Wars, of course, have all reflected the official canon of the Star Wars universe.
I think this is a good change. Gone are the days of the isolated video game story. Fans of the story world can now play the video game, and count on getting a good story out of it, which won’t be countered by something they see in the shows or movies.
Of course, as we recently saw with the Battlestar Galactica MMO, not everyone sees this as a priority.
