It appears to be game over for the Phoebe Waller-Bridge Amazon Tomb Raider series. The high-profile reboot, once touted as a flagship franchise for Prime Video, is now reportedly dead. And with it, another chapter closes in the long, expensive saga of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s $100 million no-content deal.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Phoebe Waller-Bridge attends 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 Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
Back in November, Game of Thrones and Dark Phoenix star Sophie Turner was reportedly in final negotiations to play Lara Croft. While not officially announced by Amazon, multiple outlets cited her as the frontrunner for the iconic role in the Tomb Raider series. But now, according to Mail Online (via GameFragger), those plans have been scrapped. The show is “dead,” insiders say, due to Waller-Bridge’s slow-moving scripts and Turner’s other commitments.
The project, greenlit by ousted Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, was originally pitched as an “epic” globe-trotting series and marked a major piece of Amazon’s big-budget IP strategy. That plan now lies in ruins.
Waller-Bridge, best known for Fleabag and ruining Indiana Jones, signed a $20 million-per-year overall deal with Amazon in 2019 — a contract that’s cost the studio a reported $100 million in total and yielded exactly zero shows or films. When that deal expired in 2022, Salke renewed it. And just before her own departure in 2025, she converted it into a non-exclusive “first look” agreement for “significantly less” money.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 15: 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 Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
Still, that’s six years, over $100 million, and nothing produced.
The Amazon Tomb Raider reboot was supposed to be Waller-Bridge’s breakout streaming blockbuster, but like so many of the streamer’s expensive experiments — Citadel, The Rings of Power — it fizzled before it even began.
Waller-Bridge once said, “Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life… I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television… I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all.”
Instead, the bats are staying in the cave — and the series is never happening.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2024
Meanwhile, Turner’s casting had already raised eyebrows among fans. Despite positive buzz from ITV’s Joan, the Amazon Tomb Raider series would have been her first time leading a major action franchise. With Angelina Jolie, Alicia Vikander, and Hayley Atwell all having taken a stab at the character in film and animation, Turner would’ve had large boots to fill.
Now, that’s no longer a concern.
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)
So what did Amazon really get from this years-long Waller-Bridge “investment”? One hit (Fleabag, licensed from the BBC), a canceled Tomb Raider series, and a very expensive reminder that star power doesn’t always equal output.
How do you feel about the Amazon Tomb Raider series being dead? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
