Tomb Raider film to model Lara Croft after new game

Tomb Raider

Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider reboot tuck-rolled today into a well-received reception (on the console side, at least—our review is still forthcoming ), but the silver-screen restart of the action-adventure franchise has been planned since 2011. Tinseltown bills it as a retelling of Lara Croft's origins, a convenient mirroring of the just-released Raider's narrative. Speaking to Variety , Crystal Dynamics head Darrell Gallagher says the team is working closely with studio GK films to model film's heroine after her younger, more rugged virtual counterpart.

"[GK is] working from this new take that we've given them,” Gallagher says. “It's a good partnership. We're seeing the challenges through the same lens. It was important for both of us to have a cohesive version of the franchise. We didn't want to see a film version that was a continuation of the old Tomb Raider films."

A couple years ago, film producer Graham King explained the movie focuses on "telling the story before she became Lara Croft," turning the agile action and tomb-raidering into "a character piece."

"It does have a lot of really great characters, but it's a lot of action and a lot of fun, and for me, it's something very different," he continued. "I've not really done a movie like that before, but I really gravitated to rebooting this franchise, and we're going to give it a shot."

It's unknown when the film is expected to debut nor who will become the new face of Lara Croft after Angelina Jolie's 2001 performance, but Iron Man writers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have signed on to pen the story.