Lara Croft may face villain played by Walton Goggins in 'Tomb Raider' reboot

By Rick Marshall Published December 7, 2016

tomb raider walton goggins villain justified — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Tomb Raider reboot was assigned a 2018 release date earlier this year, and now the film has a villain as well.

Emmy-nominated Justified actor Walton Goggins will reportedly portray the primary villain in the upcoming reboot of Tomb Raider set to star Alicia Vikander as the intrepid archaeologist Lara Croft. The role Goggins will play opposite the actress, who won an Oscar for The Danish Girl, is unknown at this point.

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According to Variety, Goggins is in final negotiations for the unidentified role, which would continue the actor’s series of high-profile projects in recent years. Along with earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the FX series Justified, Goggins also received considerable praise for his performances in Quentin Tarantino’s recent films The Hateful Eight and Django Unchained, as well as the FX series Sons of Anarchy.

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Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug (The Wave), the Tomb Raider reboot is based on a script penned by Transformers: The Last Knight co-writer Geneva Robertson-Dworet.

One of the most successful video game franchises of all time, Tomb Raider also inspired a pair of live-action features — 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and 2003’s Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life — that cast Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is currently the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time in U.S. theaters. It earned $131.1 million domestically and $274.7 million worldwide.

The Tomb Raider reboot is scheduled to hit theaters March 16, 2018.

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Gaming

Tomb Raider returns as a mobile roguelike via Netflix

tomb raider reloaded release date

Tomb Raider Reloaded, a roguelike mobile game based on Crystal Dynamics' long-running series, has been unveiled ahead of its release on iOS, Android, and Netflix on February 14.
Tomb Raider Reloaded is Coming Soon - Register Now!
Tomb Raider Reloaded is a top-down action game where players control Lara Croft. She'll go from room to room, defeating enemies and solving puzzles in each one. In typical roguelike fashion, Croft will get more powerful over time as players level up, obtain XP modifiers, find stat-boosting Runes and Perks, and craft weapons and outfits. Lara will be voiced by Keeley Hawes, who portrayed her in games like Tomb Raider: Anniversary and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, rather than Camilla Luddington, who played Lara Croft in Crystal Dynamics' rebooted trilogy.
This announcement comes on the heels of Amazon making a large investment in the Tomb Raider franchise. Amazon Game Studios will publish the Unreal Engine 5-powered Tomb Raider game in development at Crystal Dynamics and is developing TV shows and movies connected to the game. Amazon is not involved with the release of this mobile game, though, as developer Emerald City Games and Embracer Group-owned publisher CDE Entertainment are handling it. Regardless, 2023 has been the busiest year for Lara Croft in a while.
The game will be available normally on iOS and Android, but Netflix subscribers can also download a version of the game that doesn't have any in-game ads or microtransactions. The release of Tomb Raider Reloaded will come right on the heels of the launch of Valiant Hearts: Coming Home, another Netflix mobile game based on a notable console game.

Gaming

Amazon Games will publish the next Tomb Raider title

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Amazon Games today announced that it will publish the next Tomb Raider game from Crystal Dynamics.

Crystal Dynamics first teased this new Tomb Raider title during an Unreal Engine 5 showcase in March. Shortly thereafter, Square Enix sold Crystal Dynamics -- as well as its sister studios Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal -- to Embracer Group for $300 million. This obviously left the new Tomb Raider without a publisher, and rather than self-publishin,g Crystal Dynamics has decided to partner with Amazon Games.

Gaming

Square Enix sells Tomb Raider, Deus Ex developers to Embracer

Lara Croft runs from a crashing plane in Tomb Raider.

Square Enix has offloaded its North American operations as it announced the sale of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal to Embracer Group today. The deal also nets Embracer Group over 50 notable franchises such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain.
Crystal Dynamics is best known for its work on the Tomb Raider franchise, though it recently released the tumultuous live service Marvel's Avengers game. Eidos Montreal is behind series like Deus Ex and recently garnered critical acclaim following the release of Guardians of the Galaxy. Square Enix Montreal is a mobile-focused studio that makes games like Lara Croft GO and Hitman Sniper.

Embracer Group is purchasing the three studios, which employ over 1,100 developers, for only $300 million. The status of certain series like Sleeping Dogs and Gex, as well as the status of the Marvel deal that spawned Marvel's Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy game, are still in question. As of now, the only announced game from these studios is a brand-new Tomb Raider that will run on Unreal Engine 5, though the related press release says Crystal Dynamics is "actively working on several AAA projects."
Meanwhile, the announcement says the Eidos Montreal "is working on a host of AAA projects including both new releases from beloved franchises and original IP," and that Square Enix Montreal "will continue to develop and operate memorable mobile games based on AAA IP." Embracer is interested in these studios' potential to make single-player AAA titles for PC, consoles, and mobile and all of the classic series that come with them.
While it's not the best-known gaming company, Embracer Group is much bigger than you might think. This European holding company owns a massive range of developers and publishers from around the world. THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, Gearbox, Saber Interactive, Coffee Stain, and all of those studios' subsidiaries are owned by Embracer. The company even has holdings outside of video games, as it recently acquired Asmodee and Dark Horse.
These former Square Enix studios and the franchises that come with them will simply beef up the company's already massive offerings. Embracer and Square Enix expect this deal to close between July and September 2022.