Move over, Angelina Jolie – there’s a new Lara Croft coming to town.
MGM has acquired the film rights to the “Tomb Raider” video game series and will reboot the franchise in partnership with producer Graham King’s GK Films, it was announced today. King had previously secured the rights back in 2011 from the game’s current publisher Square Enix Ltd.
“Graham is one of the premier producers in this industry and I am delighted to be working with him on this exciting franchise,” said MGM Chairman and CEO Gary Barber in a statement. “We look forward to developing more projects together in the future.”
Echoed King: “I am thrilled to partner with Gary and his MGM team on rebooting this successful ‘Tomb Raider’ film franchise. The enthusiasm over the recent game release is very encouraging and we can”t wait to bring it to the big screen.”
The eleventh installment in the “Tomb Raider” video game series, itself billed as a reboot, was released on March 5 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. Titled, simply, “Tomb Raider,” the game – available for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC – has sold over 3.4 million units worldwide since its release.
Jolie’s two films as the title character – 2001’s “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” and 2003’s “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life” – grossed a combined $430 million-plus worldwide, though the second film underperformed relative to expectations. Though a second sequel was subsequently rumored, Jolie announced she had no interest in returning to the role in a 2004 interview.
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