MGM Announces New Tomb Raider Film in Development

Rumors of a Tomb Raider movie inspired more by the current reboot of the series in video games rather than the two previous installments of the movie franchise have been swirling for a few months now. The putative film had even acquired a production company and producer, GK Films, whose pedigree is anything but marked by big budget blockbuster shlock, what with Traffic, Argo, The Departed, Gangs of New York, and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. But the project crossed an important line yesterday by partnering with a larger distribution studio. With the involvement of MGM, this is now a film that will probably get made.

Darrell Gallagher, head of Crystal Dynamics, the video game studio behind the recent Tomb Raider, has spoken favorably of their partnership with GK Films:

It was important for both us and [developing production company] GK Studios to have a cohesive version of the franchise. It’s a good partnership. We’re seeing the challenges through the same lens. We didn’t want to see a continuation of the old films, [so] they are working from this new take we’ve given them.

The eponymous Graham King of GK Films, producer on the movie, feels similarly:

[Though the previous Tomb Raider films] weren’t disasters, the story that we’re telling is really the story before she became Lara Croft, so it is a character piece, which I find interesting. But it’s still a lot of action and a lot of fun.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, development on the film will begin immediately, i.e., the writing work will begin immediately. Empire Online notes that writers Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus had previously been attached to the project, though no writers have been confirmed with this new announcement from MGM. I seriously hope that the studios at least consider putting Rhianna Pratchett in charge of either the whole script or as a co-writer or script consultant, if they’re serious about retaining the tone of the video game.

(via Empire Online.)