Tomb Raider 2.0: Why Sophie Turner and Phoebe Waller‑Bridge’s TV Lara Croft Could Change the Game for Prime Video and Players Alike

Prime Video confirmed Sophie Turner as Lara Croft in its upcoming Tomb Raider series, created and written by Phoebe Waller‑Bridge. Amazon MGM Studios says production is slated to begin in January next year. The creative bench is unusually deep for an action‑adventure series: Chad Hodge will co‑showrun and Jonathan Van Tulleken (Shōgun, The Changeling) is set to direct.

Turner, who broke out as Sansa Stark before stepping into superhero territory as Jean Grey, said she’s “thrilled beyond measure” to take on an “iconic” character and is “giving everything I’ve got.” Waller‑Bridge, who previously adapted Killing Eve and contributed to the James Bond writing team, said she grew up loving Lara and is excited to make a show “of this scale” with a “phenomenal” team. Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, called Lara “one of the most recognisable and iconic video game characters of all time,” underscoring Amazon’s intent to position Tomb Raider as a flagship.

The reveal landed with a clear signal of hybrid appeal. Turner brings credibility with genre audiences and global name recognition; Waller‑Bridge suggests a tonal recalibration—sharp, layered, character‑driven—without abandoning the franchise’s adventure DNA. With production timing on the books and a top‑flight team aligned, this is no speculative development—Prime has planted its flag.

Waller‑Bridge’s signature—richly observed women, mordant humor that punctures myth while finding fresh mythos, and character engines that drive plot—maps cleanly onto Tomb Raider. Expect a Lara who is less one‑liner automaton and more wry, self‑aware protagonist—still physically audacious, but grounded in emotional stakes and a complex moral compass.

Turner’s casting helps square that circle. She has the on‑screen steel for action and the quiet elasticity to play Lara as a decider, a decoder and a survivor. In a weekly format, that range matters: television thrives on the micro‑choices a character makes between set pieces—the decode‑the‑glyph beat, the field‑expedient fix in a cave‑in, the uneasy alliance at a dig site. Turner can sell the bruises and the brainwork.

The tightrope is clear: keep the iconography—archaeology, traversal, puzzles, artifacts, booby‑trapped ruins—while evolving the tone. The best bet is to embrace a serialized mystery engine: tease artifact lore early, foreground puzzle‑forward sequences that feel participatory, and let banter cut the tension without puncturing awe. If the show’s grammar mirrors the loop fans love—scout, decipher, solve, survive—Lara’s reinvention can feel both classic and current.

Tomb Raider arrives as streaming economics harden. Apple TV+ just raised monthly prices to £9.99 in the UK and to $12.99 in the US, continuing an industry‑wide pattern of tiering and annual increases. In this environment, platforms need clear differentiation—and nothing differentiates like a global franchise that can be marketed across regions, languages and devices.

The playbook is visible in recent phenoms. Netflix’s animated Kpop Demon Hunters became the platform’s most viewed film ever with more than 236 million views and leveraged viral music and a limited sing‑along theatrical event that delivered Netflix its first US box‑office number one. The lesson isn’t to chase animation; it’s that sticky genre IP—delivered with cultural specificity, strong soundtrack strategy and meme‑ready moments—can cut through and then compound across platforms.

A Tomb Raider series has the bones for that kind of flywheel. The name travels internationally on recognition alone, but it will scale if episodes deliver cliffhangers that trend, puzzles that TikTok deciphers, and stunts that look real enough to go viral. In a market where users are paying more and sampling ruthlessly, a show that spawns creator content and communal problem‑solving is more valuable than one that’s merely bingeable.

Archaeology‑adventure has evolved beyond the old Tomb Raider/Uncharted binary. Players increasingly relish “archival adventuring”—interpreting spaces, assembling narratives from artifacts and notes, and drawing inference from environmental storytelling. Modern puzzle‑forward standouts such as Heaven’s Vault, Return of the Obra Dinn and Outer Wilds: Archaeologist Edition reward curiosity and theory‑building; 2025’s Blue Prince encouraged literal note‑taking. The takeaway for TV: make viewers feel like co‑investigators.

Equally important is who the audience is. Women now make up around half of players, and the streaming creator economy has widened that tent. UK streamer Alyska has amassed around 585,000 followers by sharing the experience of discovery, fear, triumph and failure live. The UK games market itself is a powerhouse—with revenue projected to reach £13.7bn—while UK game streaming is now a £400m industry. A female‑led action series that respects gamer literacy and representation can tap into these vocal, mobilized communities.

Fans understand the faithfulness‑vs‑flexibility tightrope. Non‑negotiables include Lara’s competence, her drive to explore, the thrill of discovery, puzzles with readable logic, and a sense of mystery threaded through the world. Smart modernization can come through tone, stakes and ensemble dynamics: a more diverse expedition team, deeper antagonists, and antagonistic allies who challenge Lara’s methods. Treat fandom as a partner in the puzzle, not a passive consumer.

Narrative structure: Treat each episode as a self‑contained mystery that advances a season‑long artifact arc. Open cold on an enigmatic tableau—an inscription partially decoded, a trap sprung, a relic gone—then spiral outward through investigation, traversal and puzzle resolution. Stage big lore reveals at mid‑season and finale beats, rewarding viewers who track symbols, languages and maps.

Production grammar: Prioritize practical stunts, tactile sets and real locations that sell weight and texture. Use VFX as enhancement, not crutch. Design puzzle sequences to read cleanly on screen—clear visual affordances, escalating states, and earned payoffs. Shoot traversal with clarity—ropework, climbs, squeezes—so the audience feels every decision and consequence. That’s how set pieces become shareable moments.

Community and marketing: Lean into creator‑led behind‑the‑scenes content that demystifies the action. Seed cosplay‑friendly costumes and props early. Consider light‑touch ARGs that invite fans to decode glyphs or assemble maps across social channels. Host watch‑along streams with puzzle designers and historians. Partner with gaming creators who can break down set pieces like boss fights—treat each episode as a raid the community just completed.

Synergy potential: Without overpromising tie‑ins, align content beats with the gaming calendar where possible. Offer lore expansions or developer chats acknowledging Tomb Raider’s evolving game lineage. If game collaborations emerge, time them to season arcs and let each medium deepen the other’s mysteries rather than simply cross‑promote.

Adaptation fatigue is real after multiple on‑screen Laras. The antidote is tonal clarity from the pilot: signal puzzle‑forward storytelling, grounded physicality and a witty but not winking voice. Open with an elegantly staged problem only Lara can solve, then let the solution teach viewers how this show thinks.

Budget vs. cinematic expectation will be a continuous negotiation. Mitigate by investing where TV wins: location realism, tactile production design, and puzzle engineering that reads on screen. A well‑designed chamber with shifting states—leveraging practical water, sand, light and counterweights—can outshine any CG cavern if the audience understands how it works.

Fandom expectations demand proactive management. Share early creative briefs and teaser clips that showcase the show’s action‑and‑puzzle grammar, not just hero images. Highlight Turner performing traversal beats and the design team walking through puzzle logic. If marketing communicates, “we know the loop and we’ll deliver it,” trust—and word of mouth—will follow.