Netflix's animated Tomb Raider series to finally tell The Legend Of Lara Croft

Seeing as it has been six years since the last Tomb Raider movie and three years after the film rights expired, preventing Alicia Vikander from reprising the role of Lara Croft, Netflix is finally bringing Tomb Raider back to the realm of animation. Though we’ll be teased with another reboot of the film series for the rest of our lives, Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft is coming to Netflix this October.

Voiced by Hayley Atwell, an actor who should play Croft in a live-action movie, Croft returns for a direct sequel to the video game’s Survivor Trilogy. Comprised of 2013’s Tomb Raider and its sequels, 2015’s Rise Of The Tomb Raider and 2018’s Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, the trio was part of a successful reboot effort for Croft. The games reset the Lara Croft design, scaling back the triangular objectification that plagued the character since 1996. After 20 years of making her loyal fans angry and horny, Lara would finally shed the buxom design models for something with considerably fewer back problems. Fans and critics rewarded the game with huge sales and great reviews, while Conan O’Brien rewarded the game with a classic “Clueless Gamer.”

The Legend Of Lara Croft takes a different approach with the character. In the new teaser, we’re treated to an anime-inspired Croft, who looks and moves like a character from The Legend Of Korra. The series comes from Tasha Huo, who previously worked with Netflix on The Witcher: Blood Origin, and suddenly, the animation makes perfect sense. Of course, seeing as this 2024’s Tomb Raider, the show will explore Lara Croft’s trauma, the only believable justification for Tomb Raiding.

It’s interesting how Netflix has leveraged some dormant properties for the animation wing that they should consider password-protecting. Earlier this month, they announced a new Terminator animated series, Terminator Zero, which takes a similar approach to the material, turning a movie series on fumes after various studios failed to beat contract expiration dates. Hey, there’s always room for another animated series.

Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft will stream on Netflix on October 10.