Oscar winning actress Alicia Vikander has won the lead role in the action-adventure film "Tomb Raider" after a lengthy casting process that attracted up and coming stars like Daisy Ridley of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Vikander, who will be playing Lara Croft in the reboot, is currently the only actor who has committed to the movie. Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug has signed on to direct from a script from screenwriter Evan Daugherty ("Snow White and Huntsman," Divergent"), reported Variety.
MGM acquired the development rights to "Tomb Raider" in 2013 after Graham King's GK Films signed a partnership deal with the film company. King first had the rights to "Tomb Raider" in 2011.
The plot of the film will focus on a younger version of Lara Croft as she goes on the first of her many adventures, Forbes reported.
Originally a video game, "Tomb Raider" is a loose adaptation of the video game universe that started with its market introduction in 1996. Lara Croft became an icon among video game fans and enthusiasts. The character was partly credited for the increase in sales of PlayStation consoles during the 1990s. It was ranked fifth in a 2015 Empire Magazine list of the greatest video game characters in history.
The original "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" films made Angelina Jolie a household name when it was first released in 2001. A sequel, "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" was created in 2003. Both movies were developed when Paramount still had the franchise's film rights.
Vikander won multiple industry acting awards like an Oscar and a Golden Globe for "The Danish Girl" opposite Eddie Redmayne. She will next be seen in the fourth Jason Bourne movie and "The Light Between Oceans," a drama which will also star rumored lover Michael Fassbender. She was also seen in last year's "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
