The Tomb Raider film rights just went on sale, with franchise star Alicia Vikander set to be recast by the studio that ultimately snaps them up.
Previous rightsholder MGM recently relinquished its hold on the iconic video game franchise's film rights, reports Deadline. Production company GK Films is now auctioning off the Tomb Raider property, with a bidding war apparently underway between several parties. GK Films also confirmed that Vikander will no longer return for the sequel to 2018's series reboot, which has been in development since 2019. The report also suggests that MGM's decision not to retain the rights to Tomb Raider could be tied to the studio's acquisition by Amazon in May 2022.
It's currently unclear if Misha Green is still attached to write and direct the Tomb Raider sequel, or even whether the project will remain a direct follow-up to the 2018 original. Green, best known as the showrunner on HBO's horror series Lovecraft Country, signed on for Vikander's second Tomb Raider outing in January 2021. She replaced Rebecca director Ben Wheatley, who bowed out of the production after MGM put it on indefinite hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Timeline of the Tomb Raider Reboot's Sequel
The Tomb Raider sequel initially appeared to gather momentum following Green's appointment. The filmmaker revealed that the first draft of the script was finished in May 2015, and even teased the movie's title, "Tomb Raider: Obsidian." At the time, Green made it clear that MGM was yet to approve the title and also tried to manage fans' expectations regarding how early into pre-production the film was. Whether Tomb Raider: Obsidian is still the name of the project post-MGM ownership remains uncertain at present.
While updates on the Tomb Raider reboot's sequel dried up soon after, Vikander assured fans that it was still in active development in July 2021. "It's not greenlit, but the script is in the making. And I think everyone is excited, and I would love to revisit Lara again... Misha is on board and she's working on the script right now. So I'm very excited to sort of read something very soon," she said.
Vikander seemed less certain about the future of her second Tomb Raider movie in May 2022, however, and hinted that the Amazon/MGM deal could throw a spanner in the works. "With the MGM and Amazon buyout, I have no clue. Now it's kind of politics," she said. "I think Misha and I have been ready, so it's kind of in somebody else's hands, to be honest."
Source: Deadline