On the heels of a big launch for its new James Bond video game, “007 First Light,” and talks of another 007 film, Amazon is going all in on another classic British character with the upcoming debut of its “Tomb Raider” video game franchise and a live-action TV show.
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First up will be “Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis,” which is a remake of the original 1996 “Tomb Raider” game. Following that game’s release in February 2027, the splashy new title, “Tomb Raider: Catalyst,” will launch later that year. And while Amazon Games and developer Crystal Dynamics recently demo’d “Atlantis” for press at Summer Game Fest, little is still known about “Catalyst” beyond an initial plot description.
There’s not much Alix Wilton Regan, who is the voice and performance capture actor portraying Lara Croft in both games, can say right now, but the “Cyberpunk 2077” star told Variety it will be worth the wait.
“I am excited for people to go on a really, really big new adventure with Lara, which I think is slightly going to blow people’s minds, because it blew my mind when I was reading this [script],” Regan says. “When I got the script, having had my mind blown, I then had to have a really big meeting with the writer — like, we need to talk. It blew my mind reading the scripts, so I think it’s gonna blow everyone else’s minds playing the game.”
When announcing “Catalyst” last December, Amazon said the title “marks a bold direction for the series as Lara Croft embarks on a new adventure across Northern India.” The game will be set in the aftermath of a “mythical cataclysm that has unleashed ancient secrets and awakened the mysterious forces that guard them,” and see Lara race to uncover the truth behind the incident while trying to stop the notorious treasure hunters who descend on the region.
When Regan was cast in the iconic role, the actor didn’t know she would actually be playing Lara in not one, but two new “Tomb Raider” games.
“I was cast [in August 2022] and it was maybe 2024, something like that, when we went into full production on both,” Regan said. “Then I was like, this is big, whoa, this is really big. I didn’t know immediately, but certainly for about two years now, I’ve been working on both projects simultaneously.”
The “Tomb Raider” video games come amid Amazon’s production on a new live-action “Tomb Raider” series starring Sophie Turner, which Regan says is “going to be fantastic.”
Read below for more from Variety‘s interview with Regan.
Did you approach Lara differently in the two games: the remake, “Atlantis,” and the new game, “Catalyst?”
Yes, I did, actually. I’m trying to make Lara in “Atlantis” feel ever so slightly younger and more wide-eyed and slightly more innocent than in “Catalyst” because, of course, if you think about it logically, it goes “Atlantis” and then all the other games, and then we go to “Catalyst.” So I’m trying to keep the “Atlantis” one just a little bit younger, a little bit more wide eyed; hasn’t seen quite as much stuff, but she is very much a Lara who has lived through the “Survivor” trilogy.
How much inspiration did you take from the original “Tomb Raider” games or the films?
The team was very clear that we are back in classic Lara territory. So there was a lot of inspiration taken from the first three “Tomb Raiders,” and then the Angelina Jolie films, because it’s written with that kind of wit, that high level intelligence, that very dry sense of British humor. So there’s a lot of inspiration that’s been taken from all of those projects, whilst also paying close attention to what Camilla [Luddington] did with her Lara [in the “Survivor” trilogy], because that is the previous iteration of Lara, technically speaking, and that’s what came before, where “Atlantis” kicks off, so I’ve looked at all of that.
Sophie Turner will be playing Lara Croft on Amazon’s “Tomb Raider” TV series. Have you all spoken about your respective castings? Have Amazon’s two Lara Crofts talked?
The two Lara Crofts have indeed talked. Yes, we have. We know each other socially from London, and so it was really funny — I was already recording both of my “Tomb Raiders” before Sophie got her job. But she was announced first, so I was like looking her in the eye at a party, going, “It’s just so great! I’m so happy for you!” And I was doing this with my eyes, but not saying anything, because I was under NDA. So then, in 2025, when I was announced at the Game Awards, I asked the gods and the goddesses of Amazon HQ if I could talk to her, and they said yes, of course, you can. So I texted her, and she just replied all capital letters “Alix” in a text message, and “Oh my god, can’t believe this. Oh my god, my mind is blown.” They were just solid capital for the whole time.
Have you spoken with Sophie about how you are each approaching the character? Are you considering the differences in formats between TV and video games and how the audience engages with the story and character?
I haven’t spoken to Sophie about her interpretation of Lara because I don’t think that would be either appropriate or fair at this point. She’s so immersed in her journey of creating her Lara. But between Sophie Turner and [writer] Phoebe Waller-Bridge, I think you’re in very safe hands. I have no concerns about this TV show. It’s going to be fantastic, because anything that those two do is really, really good.
So, as far as my Lara is concerned, that is something that I’ve thought about, because you’re absolutely right on the difference between television and video games, because video games are quintessentially interactive and deeply immersive, and that’s why players love them. They feel like the protagonist in a way that film and television simply cannot match, and sort of never have. Film and TV, the audience can project onto those characters, but they can’t experience it in the same way. So, with regards to that, I am very conscious of the main thing I’ve been trying to do with Lara, which is keep her grounded, keep her strong, so that when you’re playing as Lara, you feel grounded, strong, and capable, and then inject a heavy dose of charisma and charm, so that you enjoy the experience of playing Lara Croft, whilst also staying true to the core of classic Lara, which was the directive for these new games. So that people step into “Atlantis” and go, “I remember this,” almost like a sense memory thing from our childhoods, whether you played it in ’96 originally or whether you just played the remaster in ’24.
For the established “Tomb Raider” fans, I want it to feel like a safe, familiar, and incredibly exciting world, and for the new “Tomb Raider” fans who are going to join us in “Atlantis,” I want it to feel immersive, dynamic, and like a really exciting adventure that they want to go on. The biggest piece of feedback we’ve had from the demo is “fun.” It’s the number one world we’ve had, fun. It’s fun, it’s a really fun game. And I think that’s a really nice thing to have in such a complicated world at the moment.
This interview has been edited and condensed.