Tomb Raider Reboot To Be “Realistic Origin Story”

Tomb Raider - Lara Croft

It was announced earlier this year that a Tomb Raider reboot was in the works. The rumor of Megan Fox replacing Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft was denied straight away by her spokesperson, but according to producer Dan Lin (who produced Terminator Salvation) they are still going to go for a younger Lara, so Jolie is definitely not coming back to reprise the role for a third time.

In an interview at the premiere of Terminator Salvation, Lin talked about various different movies he’s involved with, one of which was the Tomb Raider reboot. When asked about what we can expect from the movie, he replied that it won’t be of the same feel as the previous incarnation:

“…It’s a great origin story that we’re going to tell… more character orientated, more realistic than the past Lara Croft movies… It is an origin story, so it is a younger Lara Croft… It’s not full-on action, like Terminator, it’s character-driven action… For me, the Lara Croft movies and games have gone a little too action orientated… I want it to have action but with character.”

For the full video interview with Lin you can head over to About.com

I’m actually not totally against the idea of a Tomb Raider reboot, simply because they didn’t do all that they could have done with the existing ones, and adding a third chapter to the current continuity wouldn’t do much good at this point.

However, I’m not in favor of what Lin is describing they’re doing with this reboot. I can’t see how he can complain that the previous movies (and particularly the games), are too action-oriented: For one, the whole point of a video game is fun, entertaining action for you to control, and I think the movie version should keep to that spirit.

There are enough “realistic” and “dark” origin stories out there already without a newfound Tomb Raider series coming along and just doing the same thing again (it certainly didn’t work with Wolverine). There are certainly elements from the games, such as Lara’s history with her father, that can be drawn upon to be part of the new Tomb Raider movies. But it shouldn’t be the thing that the movie concentrates on – can they really bring anything new to the “realistic origin story” table?

As far as the possibility of Megan Fox being the new Lara Croft goes, although it was publicly denied by her spokesperson, it doesn’t necessarily mean she won’t ever be cast in the role. The denial was issued almost 6 months ago, but fast-forward to the present day and Miss Fox’s mind might have changed. I’m not sure about her acting ability (with the origin story angle, acting chops are a bit more important than they were for the previous movies), but what do you do when the story calls for a younger actress, and therefore excludes Angelina Jolie? Well, you get someone who rivals Jolie in the looks department, that’s what.

What is your opinion on the realistic origin story they are going to have in the Tomb Raider reboot? Should they just keep it action orientated, as the games are?

Sources: About.com and /Film