EXCLUSIVE: In what will become one of the hottest TV casting searches this fall, Amazon MGM Studios has compiled a wish list of accomplished young actors for the role of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, a high-profile adaptation of the Prime Video game franchise from the award-winning creator of Fleabag Emmy Award-winning Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) and Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) are set to audition for the role previously played by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander on the big screen, sources tell Deadline.
It is unclear who will audition for the famous role, a process shrouded in secrecy. Some names on the wish list alongside Turner and Boynton, including Emma Corrin and Mackenzie Davis, are not believed to be auditioning. An Amazon MGM Studios rep declined to comment.
The combination of one of popular culture’s most famous action heroines and one of television’s best female creators in Waller-Bridge has turned Lara Croft into a highly sought-after role for actors in their late 20s and 30s.
Tomb Raider, which Amazon MGM Studios president Jennifer Salke described as “epic” and “world-trotting” while announcing the series order in May, was a passion project for writer/executive producer Waller-Bridge, who spoke fondly of the title character at the time of pickup .
“Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to so many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. All Bats,” she said in May.
Tomb Raider is executive produced by Waller-Bridge and Jenny Robins through Wells Street Productions, Dimitri M. Johnson through dj2 Entertainment, Michael Scheel and rights holders Legendary Television as well as Crystal Dynamics. Greenblatt and Andolina are consulting producers under their Star Party banner. The series is produced by Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios.
Turner, nominated for an Emmy for her first major role as Sansa Stark on Game Of Thrones, currently headlines the limited series of British crime drama Joan and next stars in another British show, Haven, for Prime Video, home of the Tomb Raider series.
Boynton, known for her roles in Bohemian Rhapsody and Murder On the Orient Express, recently headlined The Greatest Hits for Searchlight, and next stars in the British historical series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.
