LOS ANGELES • Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander will follow Angelina Jolie's footsteps into the action-filled role of British archaeologist and adventurer Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider reboot, reports said.
The latest in the franchise, by Norwegian director Roar Uthaug, will be an origin story following the young Lara as she sets off on her first adventure, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The original Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) was based on the 1996 video game. Jolie reprised the role two years later for Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life.
Neither film was a critical success, although Jolie was singled out for praise and the original movie performed well at the box office, taking US$275 million worldwide. The sequel earned a respectable US$157 million.
MGM, which acquired the film rights in 2012, has not officially announced hiring Vikander.
But entertainment weekly Variety, citing unnamed sources, said MGM would develop the reboot alongside Warner Bros and GK Films.
Vikander, 27, won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as artist Gerda Wegener in the 2015 biographical drama The Danish Girl.
She recently wrapped up filming for Jason Bourne, which will see Matt Damon return to the big screen as the amnesiac super-spy.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
