Lara Croft is the beating heart of the Tomb Raider franchise. She’s the iconic face and the chief star. And now the new anime series, Tomb Raider, has finally found its fearless adventurer. Netflix and Legendary Television have announced that Hayley Atwell will voice Lara Croft in the upcoming show.
Action-oriented franchises are Atwell’s specialty. Atwell is joining Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 7, set to release September 30, 2022. She is, of course, also known for her turn as Peggy Carter in Marvel’s Captain America. And, recently, she brought Peggy to life in an animated way. Atwell voiced Peggy Carter in Marvel Studio’s What If…?. A fitting precursor to this casting news.
Square Enix/Netflix
In late October, we learned about two additional cast members for the series. Series showrunner Tasha Huo shared the casting news in the below video as part of a 25th anniversary celebration for Tomb Raider. The release states “Allen Maldonado (Heels, The Wonder Years) has joined the cast as the voice of tech expert and colleague Zip, and Earl Baylon will reprise his role from the video game as the voice of one of Lara’s most-trusted friends and voice of reason, Jonah Maiava.”
Based on Square Enix’s Tomb Raider global franchise, the Tomb Raider anime will follow the video-game reboot trilogy. The logline for the show shares:
Lara Croft, one of the video game world’s most iconic adventurers, makes her anime debut in an all new series. Picking up after the events of the highly successful Tomb Raider video-game reboot trilogy, the animated series will chart the globetrotting heroine’s latest, greatest adventure. Twenty-five years after her first game appeared, Lara continues to explore new territory.
Like many beloved franchises, Tomb Raider has now been around for nearly two decades. But with fresh takes and fresh voices, it continues to evolve. The Witcher: Blood Origin writer Tasha Huo will also write and executive produce this show. Additional executive producers include dj2 Entertainment Founder and CEO Dmitri M. Johnson. Howard Bliss and Stephan Bugaj; and Jacob Robinson, under his company Tractor Pants, also join them.
The release shares, “In the 25 years since its launch, the Tomb Raider video game series has sold over 84 million copies and garnered a treasure chest worth of awards.” We’re excited to see what this next chapter will bring. Hayley Atwell’s Lara Croft will surely set the scene.
Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.
Originally published September 13, 2021.
