MGM has announced the screenwriter for its new Tomb Raider picture, with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles scribe Evan Daugherty signing on to pen the script. Warner Bros. has also joined the project, the first Tomb Raider film since 2003’s awkwardly titled Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, for co-producing and financing duties.
Besides writing on Michael Bay’s Turtles reboot, Daugherty has worked on Snow White And The Huntsman, Divergent, and an as-yet-unproduced third G.I. Joe film. That’s the sort of track record that might raise a few eyebrows among fans of a series, but considering we’re talking about a reboot of a poorly-regarded action movie adaptation of a much-beloved video game franchise, it’s not like Daugherty can do any more damage than has already been inflicted on the Tomb Raider legacy.
The reboot will focus on adventurer and professional shorts-wearer Lara Croft’s first brush with danger, paralleling the character’s most recent video game adventure, 2013’s subtitle-free Tomb Raider. There’s no word yet from MGM about which foolhardy young actress will risk Angelina Jolie’s ire by taking on the role of the younger Lara Croft. It’s also unclear whether Daugherty’s version of the character will follow video game-Lara’s development from a vulnerable, easily frightened pacifist to someone capable of shooting 500 dudes in the head without blinking an eye.