Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider Series: Everything We Know So Far

A TV adaptation of the Tomb Raider video games has been in the works at Prime Video since January 2023 – and more than two and a half years later we are finally making progress. Here’s the latest: Sophie Turner will star as Lara Croft, while Chad Hodge and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are both aboard as co-showrunners. Here’s everything else we know so far.

Tomb Raider: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Best known for her one-woman-show turned hit BBC series Fleabag (2016–19), Phoebe Waller-Bridge has recently turned her attention to action franchises. She wrote the first series of the BBC’s hit assassin thriller Killing Eve (2018–22), co-wrote Daniel Craig’s final Bond film No Time To Die (2021), and recently starred in Harrison Ford’s fifth and final Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).

And it seems the latter had a creative impact: since 2023, Waller-Bridge has been working on a television adaptation of popular action-adventure video game franchise Tomb Raider, which is led by an Indiana Jones-style archeologist called Lara Croft. Waller-Bridge is the creator, writer, executive producer and co-showrunner of Prime Video’s still-to-be-titled Lara Croft adaption, following Patrick Massett, John Zinman and Simon West’s 2001 film starring Angelina Jolie (the first live action adaptation of the game) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Evan Daugherty, Alastair Siddons and Roar Uthaug’s 2018 reboot starring Alicia Vikander. But this is the very first time a live action Lara Croft adaptation is being made for the small screen.

Announcing the latest news with Prime Video, Waller-Bridge said: ‘It’s not very often you get to make a show of this scale with a character you grew up loving. Everyone on board is wildly passionate about Lara and are all as outrageous, brave, and hilarious as she is. Get your artifacts out… Croft is coming…’

In May 2024, Waller-Bridge quipped: ‘If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she’d explode.’

Phoebe Waller-Bridge starred opposite Harrison Ford in the fifth and final Indiana Jones movie, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023). (Photo by Joseph Sinclair for Disney)

What Will Happen?

The plot details remain under wraps for now, but of course we expect the series to follow the adventures of world-famous archaeologist Lara Croft.

We also know the Lara Croft series will exist in a shared universe with the three existing films. It will naturally also bear a resemblance to Core Design’s original Tomb Raider video games, and the more recent games produced by Crystal Dynamics who will be executive producing. We are also told Amazon is working with Crystal Dynamics to create a brand new single-player multi-platform narrative-driven Tomb Raider game.

British director and producer Jonathan van Tulleken is on board, younger brother of twins Chris and Xand – aka the Van Tulleken Brothers – the inimitable doctors turned TV presenters who have worked broadly across British TV, with Chris the author of the agenda-setting 2023 book Ultra Processed People. Though best known for his work on Shogun, Jonathan has also worked across Top Boy, Misfits and The Aliens – meaning he is well-placed to direct what we hope will be a very-British Tomb Raider.

Sophie Turner recently led ITV’s Joan as diamond thief Joan Hannigan. (SOPHIE TURNER as Joan and FRANK DILLANE as Boisie. © ITV)

Who Will Star?

It’s official: we have our Lara Croft. Game of Thrones alum Sophie Turner is set to take the reins from Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander starring as our third ever live action Lara Croft, with Waller-Bridge describing the star as ‘formidable’. An Emmy nominee for her work playing Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, Turner has most recently appeared in HBO’s The Staircase and ITV’s diamond thief thriller Joan. Next she will reunite with Thrones brother Kit Harington in Natasha Kermani’s British gothic horror film The Dreadful.

Turner says she is ‘thrilled beyond measure’ to be playing the famous adventurer, describing Lara as ‘such an iconic character who means so much to so many’.

‘I am giving everything I’ve got,’ the star added. ‘They’re massive shoes to fill, following in the steps of Angelina and Alicia with their powerhouse performances, but with Phoebe at the helm, we (and Lara) are all in very safe hands. I can’t wait for you all to see what we have cooking.’

As for who will join Turner on the small screen, it remains to be seen…

‘Lara Croft is one of the most recognizable and iconic video game characters of all time,’ says Prime Video’s Vernon Sanders. ‘We are thrilled to have the wonderfully talented Sophie Turner bring this character to life who is defined by her courage, strength, and unshakable resolve. Led by the brilliant Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this series will honor the beloved Tomb Raider legacy while delivering fresh adventures to fans worldwide.’

Soon to star as the next Lara Croft, Sophie Turner rose to fame as Sansa Stark in HBO’s Game of Thrones. (© HBO)

Release Date

Don’t get too excited: Tomb Raider isn’t slated to start filming until 19 January 2026, so we have a bit of a wait ahead of us. We expect the Tomb Raider TV series to launch in 2027. It will be available exclusively on Prime Video.