Lara Croft has seen only a handful of adaptations in film and television. The character has only received one television show to date, but that is set to change soon enough with Netflix's upcoming anime series. The show will take place in the same universe as Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider reboot trilogy, which began with 2013's Tomb Raider and ended with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018. If Netflix's anime is going to do the franchise any justice, there are a few things it needs to accomplish, like bridging the gap between the recent reboot trilogy and the original video game series developed by Core Design.

This isn't exactly speculative. The Tomb Raider developers previously suggested that the next entry will be created with the intention of unifying those two chapters in the franchise. Game director Will Kerslake explained, "Our origin trilogy told the story of Lara's early days where she was forged into a survivor, became a hero, and ultimately, a tomb raider... while the classic games contained a seasoned and competent adventurer. We envision a future of Tomb Raider unfolding after these established adventures, telling stories that build upon both Core Design’s games and Crystal Dynamics’, working to unify these timelines." Since no new video game has been announced -- at least, not yet -- then Netflix's anime will likely be the one to start building that bridge.

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However, there is an undeniably wide gap between the Lara Croft introduced to fans in the original 1997 video game and the survivor that a new generation got to experience in the 2013 reboot. While Crystal Dynamics' original intention was to tell the story of how an aspiring archaeologist became a dual-pistol-wielding tomb raider, the conclusion of that trilogy left much to be desired. Lara had a mission at the end of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, but she still wasn't the same iconic heroine longtime fans recognized.

When creator Toby Gard introduced the character to audiences in 1996, he did so with the intention of creating a powerful, confident heroine -- collected and in control during tense situations. Throughout Core Design's series, Lara remained more or less true to what Gard had intended, even after his departure and alongside the exploitative nature of the developer's marketing strategy.

However, as the franchise progressed, Lara became more and more fantastical. That was all well and good, but after Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness' failure and the relatively lackluster performance of Tomb Raider: Underworld, it was clear the adventures alone weren't cutting it. Two timelines had failed to capture the magic. Lara needed to reconnect with the humanity that the original Tomb Raider hinted at. Back then, she was an explorer who defended herself against wild animals and Atlanteans rather than an army of soldiers and thugs. So, Crystal Dynamics went further, opting to flesh out her origin story.

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The 2013 reboot game reintroduced gamers to Lara Croft, who was now a young archaeology graduate embarking on her first expedition. After a freak storm strands her and her team on the island of Yamatai, Lara must claw her way through hell to save her companions and destroy the evil Sun Queen. The beginnings of a tomb raider were all there, but it wasn't enough. Through Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara's constant treks across icy mountaintops and thick jungles were given purpose. Lara was driven by a need for vengeance against Trinity, a desire to understand the arcane and perhaps even a need to protect herself from the trauma of what she had experienced on Yamatai.

Some might have expected that Shadow of the Tomb Raider would complete Lara's story and that fans would see her put down the bow in favor of her iconic dual pistols, finally becoming the character recognized all over the world. That was not the case, though gamers did see her take a big step in that direction. She was clearly more experienced in the game and far more willing and capable of taking down her opponents.

There is still work to be done. If Netflix wants to pick up where Shadow of the Tomb Raider left off, it needs to do more than tell a dramatic story in which Lara unloads clips upon clips of bullets. It needs to bring the globe-trekking tomb raider at least one step closer toward transforming into the character Core Design created -- minus the sleazy marketing.

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The original game gave players a calm action heroine who could take on a T-Rex without batting an eye, but the fights and shootouts were always secondary. Lara -- and gamers -- spent hours solving complex puzzles in the quiet solitude that only truly ancient, long-abandoned ruins could provide. The anime needs to reflect that somehow as it continues to transform Crystal Dynamics' Lara Croft. It needs to start bringing back her occasionally sardonic wit and fearless passion for adventure.

Heading further into that direction may seem like a step backward on the surface, but her fight against Natla or rivalry with former mentor Werner Von Croy (assuming all of this makes the reboot's canon), would have so much more weight behind it with the Survivor timeline, where some might have assumed in the past that Lara was just a bored but extremely gifted aristocrat more than anything else.

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