The Tomb Raider movie reboot was serviceable, but at the same time so immediately forgettable that we promptly forgot it had come out just last year (in our defence, it was a long year). Which is why it’s not only a surprise that a sequel is happening, but also that a very interesting director is attached.
Deadline reports that British director Ben Wheatley — best known for his work on High Rise and cult darlings like Free Fire and Kill List, as well as several episodes of Peter Capaldi’s run on Doctor Who — has been tapped by MGM to helm the Tomb Raider sequel, which will get a 2021 release.
Alicia Vikander, who played archaeological student-turned bow-wielding adventurer Lara Croft in the first film, will reprise her role, while Amy Jump will write the script.
The first movie was loosely based on the critically-praised 2013 video game reboot of the franchise, which re-oriented Lara as a younger, less experienced raider of tombs before promptly chucking into a harrowing deep end to help forge her into the adventurer fans have known and loved for decades.
Whether or not Tomb Raider 2 will go its own way or take inspiration from that reboot’s follow up games, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, remains to be seen.
For now, despite the general forgettable quality of the original, attaching a name like Wheatley has us newly interested in what’s next for Ms. Croft. The as-yet-untitled Tomb Raider sequel is currently set to release in the U.S. on March 19, 2021.