Terminator: Zero, Netflix’s recent anime take on The Terminator franchise, continues the streamer’s track record of high quality animated series set within established universes. Terminator: Zero‘s fresh approach to a 40-year-old franchise embraced the saga’s brutal action-horror roots and propelled it into Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched international shows for several weeks. As a spin-off story derived from a live-action film, however, Zero is something of an outlier within Netflix’s catalog; between Castlevania, Arcane, and the upcoming Devil May Cry, adapting wildly popular games into successful serialized narratives — something that was once a rare and pernicious task — has become one of the streamer’s calling cards.
This month, Netflix takes an animated swing at another household-name property through Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Featuring the vocal talent of Marvel’s Peggy Carter herself, Hayley Atwell, The Legend of Lara Croft promises a character-focused approach, dynamic animation by Powerhouse Animation, the studio behind Castlevania, and something different from asserting yet another origin story onto an iconic character — this series continues an existing story that’s been over 10 years in the making.
What Games Inspired Netflix’s ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’?
Apropos of its subtitle, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft tracks the young archeologist as she evolves from her amateur adventurer days into the vibrant, intellectual, and dual pistol-wielding heroine we know and love. Although the series qualifies as a prequel for this longstanding entertainment “legend” (one who’s already enjoyed numerous video games and three feature films), The Legend of Lara Croft exists in the same universe as a trio of reboot games dubbed the “Survivor Trilogy.”
This critically acclaimed and financially successful project kicked off in 2013 with the release of Tomb Raider — the 10th game produced overall — before concluding with 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider and 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Combined, the trilogy adjusts Lara Croft’s (Grey’s Anatomy‘s Camilla Luddington) origins from a wealthy British heiress and socialite who picks up her intrepid lifestyle after surviving a plane crash, to the daughter of two archeologists propelled by her curiosity and the youthful expeditions she shared with her parents.
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“We’ve got great material.”
Unfortunately, the Croft family’s discoveries placed all of them in peril. Lara’s mother disappeared when Lara was young — a mystery followed by the unequivocal death of Lara’s father in what she incorrectly presumes is a case of suicide. Orphaned and grieving, Lara inherits her parents’ wealth but plans to use it to travel the world instead of living luxuriously. The first game opens with a 20-something Lara, inexperienced and instinctively skeptical about mythology’s supernatural side, stranded on the lost island of Yamatai after a storm at sea destroys her ship. As Lara searches for her friends and navigates a harsh natural environment, she must also survive deadly human forces and an angry, destructive goddess.
As such, 2013’s Tomb Raider prioritizes suspense and stealth over heavy action. But never fear, Lara gets into plenty of dangerous scrapes over the course of her exhausting journey, and there’s no shortage of the franchise’s classic brain-teasing puzzles and tomb-raiding expeditions. From its plotline to Lara’s brand-new aesthetic (more on that later), Tomb Raider also inspired the 2018 film of the same name starring Alicia Vikander.
How Is the Survivor Trilogy Different From Previous ‘Tomb Raider’ Games?
With her first true adventure behind her, the sequels position Lara against her primary enemy, a corrupt organization called Trinity, while balancing Lara’s multifaceted development. Not only does she discover her late father’s many secrets, she’s burdened by her traumatic experiences on Yamatai and humbled by discovering that the mythology she dismissed as superstition holds legitimate supernatural power. Lara realizes she must channel her resources into respecting and protecting ancient artifacts, not just finding them for the pleasure of doing so — a narrative tactic addressing Tomb Raider‘s most troublesome image, that of a privileged white woman invading other cultures for her own fulfillment.
If it wasn’t already clear, the Survivor Trilogy’s main goal (and success) is humanizing its leading lady. This Lara might be more reserved than fans expect, but a three-game arc allows her to mature into a strategic, resilient, and passionate warrior triumphing over impossible odds. She’s as fierce and determined as she is inquisitive and loving, someone who accepts the consequences of her mistakes and sets aside her ambitions for a greater altruistic cause. Learning she’s equally capable of surviving an inhospitable island and kill-or-be-killed enemies is a moment of self-revelation.
Then, there’s the other elephant in the room: how the previous games persistently sexualized Lara. Undoubtedly, the original Lara Croft was a groundbreaking step forward in video game representation; even though she was instantly recognizable for her figure, she symbolized strength, wit, and sensuality, and didn’t exist solely to be objectified. However, comparing the Survivor Trilogy against its predecessors is a night and day difference. The Lara Croft of the modern age is traditionally attractive without being an exaggerated sex symbol who traipses through dangerous scenarios in tiny shorts. Instead, she’s muscular and athletic, covered in mud, blood, and scars, and largely dresses in a sensible tank top and cargo pants (while always rocking bangs).
How Is Netflix’s ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’ Connected to the Franchise?
Set after the third Survivor game, The Legend of Lara Croft series follows her continued evolution into the icon of the original games’ continuity. Netflix summarizes Lara’s newest journey as “confront[ing] her traumatic past while unraveling an ancient mystery” tied to Chinese mythology. Behind the scenes, Atwell is joined by cast members Richard Armitage in an undisclosed role, Earl Baylon as Jonah Maiava (reprising his role from the new games), and Allen Maldonado as Zip, Lara’s tech support from games produced before the prequel timeline.
Showrunner Tasha Huo spoke with ComicBook.com about their approach to the series, including their partnership with Tomb Raider game developers Crystal Dynamics:
“It’s such a different Lara than we got in the ’90s and beyond. How? How did she become that character? This question became the big one for me in writing the show.
It was me trying to figure out how Lara built the huge network that she ended up having
, where she could go to the middle of nowhere and somehow have a connection from some random monk in a monastery. How did she get to know that person? […] How did she become funny? It was so cool to be able to build up the Lara that we all fell in love with to start with.”
Despite The Legend of Lara Croft‘s connection to the games, new viewers presumably don’t need any context beyond the franchise’s general concept. Whether it remains a limited series or finds enough success to expand beyond its set episodes, The Legend of Lara Croft has nothing ahead of it except potential — just like the young Lara herself.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft premieres October 10 on Netflix in the U.S.
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