MGM will no longer release Tomb Raider 2 in early 2021, with Alicia Vikander's sequel losing its release date. Several years after Angelina Jolie starred in the video game movie adaptation, Vikander played Lara Croft in 2018's Tomb Raider. The reboot proved to be a moderate success despite mixed reviews, as it made nearly $275 million worldwide. The film left the door wide open for a sequel to happen, and Tomb Raider 2 finally started to make progress in 2019.

Vikander is returning to star as the world-famous adventurer after proving to be more than capable of leading the action franchise. When MGM officially announced Tomb Raider 2 was moving forward, they revealed that the film would be released in early 2021 and be directed by Ben Wheatley. That was well before COVID-19 had a dramatic impact on the world, including shutting down movie theaters and halting movie productions. Tomb Raider 2 was among the movies affected by this and led many to wonder what would become of the film's release date.

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As shared by The Wrap, MGM has officially taken away Tomb Raider 2's release date. The sequel was previously scheduled to be released in theaters on March 19, 2021. No new release date was given to Tomb Raider 2 at this time, which results in an indefinite delay. The sequel has not yet started filming or set a firm production start date.

Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2018

The news that Tomb Raider 2 will not be released in March 2021 is hardly a surprise at this stage. Without any production taking place and March being just five months away, there was no chance that Tomb Raider 2 would hit that date. This could've been achieved if COVID-19 didn't happen, and the movie was able to begin filming in the first half of 2020 as planned. Instead, Alicia Vikander says that the current hope is for Tomb Raider 2 to be in the midst of production during 2021.

Based on the current plan for Tomb Raider 2, fans shouldn't expect to see the movie in theaters until early 2022 at the earliest. That is the best-case scenario, though, and can only happen if no more setbacks occur. If production is delayed again, it might not be until late 2022 or even 2023 before Tomb Raider 2 is able to be released in theaters. Whenever the movie does arrive, hopefully it will be a bigger and better blockbuster than the first go around. There is certainly room for it to improve, and Wheatley is an interesting hire as the director. And with video game adaptations becoming increasingly popular in recent years, Tomb Raider 2 is just one of many exciting movies and TV shows in the works that will hopefully be worth the wait.

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Source: The Wrap