Tomb Raider Showrunner Explains the Benefits of Exploring Lara Croft From a Female Perspective

Lara Croft, the iconic heroine of the Tomb Raider video games, has long been considered a feminist icon. Yet, the new series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, is the first time the games are being adapted by a female creator. Tomb Raider has been adapted into live-action movies three times in the past. Angeline Jolie was the first to portray the character on the big screen. The franchise was then given a big-screen reboot in 2018 when Alicia Vikander portrayed the updated iteration of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, directed by Roar Uthaug.

Netflix’s new animated series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, is created and written by Tasha Huo, who is the first woman to oversee a major adaptation of the beloved video games. When MovieWeb spoke with Tasha Huo, the showrunner expressed how much it meant to her to be able to finally tell Lara Croft’s story from a female perspective. The Legend of Lara Croft wasn’t just created by a female writer, well over 50% of the show’s crew at Powerhouse Animation were female.

Huo told us, “It was awesome, because there was such a strong shorthand with everyone who worked on the project from Powerhouse, because, not only did they play all of the games when they were kids. But, like me, it sort of became part of their bloodstream in a way.” She continued:

“It really informed who they were as people. So to be able to revisit this character, the world that she explores,
it was just so cool to do it with people who had as much respect for her, as much admiration for her, who got emotional at all the same things I got emotional about.
I wasn’t the only one who was being a weirdo when we would get Lara to a really emotional place. We all felt it together. It’s really cool to have a shorthand with these women who were transformed by the game as much as everyone else.”

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Has a Larger-Than-Life Villain

Tasha Huo’s new take on Tomb Raider isn’t just an adaptation of the beloved video games, it’s a direct tie-in. The series is set after the “Survivor” series of games, which were released between 2013 and 2018. The games followed a younger version of Lara Croft as she slowly transformed into the iconic Tomb Raider. Netflix’s new animated series picks up shortly after the third game in the trilogy. Starring Hayley Atwell in the leading role,The Legend of Lara Croft sees the beloved heroine travel around the world, racing her new enemy, Charles Devereaux (Richard Armitage) to the powerful Peril Stones.

There’s something uniquely British about Lara Croft. The daughter of a wealthy aristocrat, Hayley Atwell brings the signature English sarcasm to her performance, as she’s faced with unspeakable horrors on her journey. Of course, no classic larger-than-life adventure is complete without a larger-than-life villain. During our conversation, Huo touched on Richard Armitage’s performance in the series, and how Deveraux is a unique villain in the Tomb Raider franchise. She said:

“Richard is fantastic, and I’ve been a fan of his for a really long time. For me,
the role of Devereaux was always going to be someone who was a mirror to Lara Croft.
Someone who is going through a similar darkness, a similar pain, and he’s choosing a certain path. And Lara has to face that and decide, does she want to go down that path, or does she want to go down a different one.”