Tomb Raider fans who are holding their breath for a sequel to Alicia Vikander’s 2018 outing as Lara Croft might want to take a breather. That’s because Vikander said she has “no clue” what the status of Tomb Raider 2 is after Amazon bought MGM last year. Vikander, who stars in HBO’s new series Irma Vep, still hopes to make the new movie, especially since Lovecraft Country creator Misha Green was hired to direct the film.
“With the MGM and Amazon buyout, I have no clue. Now it’s kind of politics,” Vikander told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Monday. “I think Misha and I have been ready, so it’s kind of in somebody else’s hands, to be honest.”
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Vikander said she “can’t really say” much about what Green’s script is like. However, she has “been excited to show the world” what Green has done. “I love what she’s done with Lovecraft Country,” the Oscar-winner added.
Green was hired to write and direct Tomb Raider 2 back in January 2021. She was hired a few months after Vikander told Good Morning America there were plans to film Tomb Raider 2 in 2021, but the pandemic forced a delay. “We’re still in discussions about it, so I hope we can probably get to it next year,” she said at the time.
In her first interview on the subject after Green’s hiring, Vikander told Collider she was very excited about the prospect of working with Green. “It’s really now when the world is up and running again, and Misha is on board and she’s working on the script right now,” she said. “So I’m very excited to sort of read something very soon.”
In August 2021, Vikander told Entertainment Weekly that Green was still working on a draft. “It’s pretty amazing – we’re, like, the same age!” Vikander said. “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?”
Things changed significantly in May 2021, when news broke that Amazon was looking to acquire MGM, which co-produced Tomb Raider with Warner Bros. Pictures, GK Films, and Square Enix. The deal finally closed in March, with Amazon paying $8.5 billion for the historic studio.
The 2018 Tomb Raider wasn’t a big hit with critics, but it grossed $274 million internationally, making enough of a profit to spur sequel talks. The film was released 17 years after Angelina Jolie played Lara Croft in 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Jolie starred in the 2003 sequel Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life.
While it could be several years before we see Vikander as Lara Croft again, there are other opportunities to see her. She recently starred in the movie The Green Knight and starred in Netflix’s Beckett. She plays the lead role in HBO’s Irma Vep, based on French filmmaker Olivier Assayas’ 1996 film.
