After Disney’s Massive ‘Indiana Jones’ Failure, Amazon MGM Studios Hires Phoebe Waller-Bridge To Write New ‘Tomb Raider’ Series

May 14, 2024 ·

John F. Trent

Amazon MGM Studios officially announced that Phoebe Waller-Bridge will write and executive produce a new Tomb Raider series for the streamer.

CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 18: Phoebe Waller-Bridge attends “Indiana Jones and The Dial Of Destiny” photocall at Carlton Pier on May 18, 2023 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)

In a press release, Amazon MGM Studios announced, “Today, at its inaugural upfront presentation, Prime Video announced that it has ordered a Tomb Raider series with Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) set as writer and executive producer. The series is based on the iconic Tomb Raider video game franchise, which follows the adventures of world-famous archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft.”

It added, “The project comes as part of a deal between Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios, originating through dj2’s first-look deal with the studio, to develop additional Tomb Raider stories into series and films. Tomb Raider will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

A screenshot from Tomb Raider (2013), Crystal Dynamics

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Waller-Bridge commented on the announcement, “If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she’d explode. Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television with such passionate collaborators.”

She added, “Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all.”

(L-R): Doctor Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen, standing), Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Lucasfilm’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY. ©.

Amazon MGM Studios Head Jennifer Salke also stated, “I’m so happy to announce that we have ordered the epic, globetrotting series Tomb Raider from the incredibly gifted Emmy-award winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge and the team at Crystal Dynamics.”

“Fans and newcomers can look forward to exhilarating adventures that honor the legacy of this iconic character,” she said.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Vernon Sanders, Head of Global TV of Amazon Studios, and Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios attends “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere & Screening on August 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Prime Video)

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Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics Scot Amos also stated, “Amazon MGM Studios and Amazon Games are incredible collaborators with a massive reach across the globe enabling us to expand our Tomb Raider franchise with multiple new adventures and a shared passion for creating impactful, entertaining, emotional experiences for players and viewers throughout every facet of this universe.”

“These timeless stories span all media platforms to meet audiences where they want to engage with Tomb Raider; it’s a critical step towards our future with fans everywhere,” he added.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft (2024), Aspyr

Waller-Bridge’s involvement in a Tomb Raider series at Amazon MGM Studios was rumored back in February with Deadline reporting she would “write a TV series as part of a potential Tomb Raider universe that would span, television, film and games.”

Deadline also noted Waller-Bridge “could also be involved in the potential movie” as well as the TV series.

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Waller-Bridge confirmed her involvement with the series telling IGN in June 2023, “There’s so much I can incorporate. I mean, the character of Lara Croft was inspired by Indiana Jones and James Bond. So there’s so much, and it just felt like the perfect final step in my own personal adventure through this kind of franchise world.”

She also shared, “I love the idea of, as Steven Spielberg describes it, the greatest show on Earth, as in being able to make things with that scale and to go on adventures that big and for the comedy and the heart to be matched but on this kind of great, great level.”

“And, actually, through all the adventure stuff that I’ve learned from those [franchises], it’s actually how to keep something feeling grounded as well as allow it to be bigger than itself in some way. And so hopefully that will all translate perfectly, seamlessly into Tomb Raider,” she added.

Waller-Bridge’s involvement in the series all but confirms the show will be dead on arrival. She is an outspoken feminist and injects that feminism into her works. She told the BBC that she would trade five years of her life for the so-called perfect body, “I would’ve been the girl with the hand up, I would’ve been like hell yes, and then thinking that was honest, and thinking that’s empowering because it’s honest and yet feeling at the same time that it’s letting the side down and not really knowing what the rules were, but then caring so deeply about women and equality and the basic principles of feminism.”

She continued, “And then slightly being frightened by the nuances and that there are traps out there. And I still feel like that. Even when I get asked about it, my heart starts beating a little faster because I know that there are mines that you can step on, and I think I’ll probably always have that.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Phoebe Waller-Bridge onstage during the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny presentation during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)

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This announcement also comes in the wake of Waller-Bridge being involved in the disastrous Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The film only grossed $383.9 million worldwide despite having a budget of $402.3 million. With that production budget, the film would have needed to gross $1.005 billion in order to break even.

Caroline Reid at Forbes noted the film lost The Walt Disney Company $134.2 million after it received a number of tax credits from the United Kingdom. However, Reid also notes the $134.2 million loss does not “show the marketing costs for the movie.” So it’s likely the film lost significantly more than $134.2 million if you factor in those costs.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Harrison Ford on a screen during the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny presentation during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)

Waller-Bridge played Helena Shaw in the film and the character appeared on What Culture’s 10 Characters That Single-Handedly Ruined Recent Movies. Waller-Bridge’s character was ranked second behind Army of the Dead’s Kate Ward.

What Culture’s Robin Baxter wrote that the character “seems to be the same obnoxious, arrogant and selfish piece of work that she was at the start of the movie. She’s a completely unlikable character, and that isn’t helped by Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s smug, arguably Razzie-worthy turn in the role.”

Baxter added that the film “is dragged down a lot by this character, especially since the titular hero himself often plays second-fiddle to her, and Helena Shaw makes the prospect of revisiting Indiana Jones’ final adventure a pretty daunting one.”