How Tomb Raider’s New Lara Croft Compares To Angelina Jolie & Alicia Vikander (2024)

A staple in pop culture for just shy of 30 years, the Tomb Raider franchise has gone through many iterations. While the series' protagonist, British archaeologist and hardened survivor Lara Croft, maintains similar traits across all the franchise's games, novels, comics, and movies, there's no denying that every Lara Croft is a different spin on the character. Released in 1996, the original Tomb Raider video game was so successful that it prompted its then-developer to churn out annual releases through 2003. Unsurprisingly, Hollywood capitalized on Tomb Raider's popularity by casting Angelina Jolie as the live-action Lara Croft.

Two decades after Jolie's take on Lara Croft stormed the box office, the treasure-hunting protagonist is still being reinvented. The 2013 game, Tomb Raider, rebooted Croft's origin story. Soon enough, it became the best-selling entry in the long-running video game series and spawned two video game sequels, Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018). Now, Netflix's animated action-adventure series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, is offering yet another version of the iconic titular character — complete with a brand-new voice actor.

Hayley Atwell Voices Lara Croft In Netflix’s Animated Tomb Raider Show

Atwell Takes Over From Lara Croft's Video Game Voice Actor Camilla Luddington

In the wake of the Tomb Raider video game reboot's success, Netflix ordered an anime-inspired series based on the enduring Tomb Raider franchise. At the time, the third installment in Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' Survivor trilogy had capped off the bestselling saga, while the Alicia Vikander-starring Tomb Raider (2018) garnered an impressive $274.7 million at the box office, despite harsh reviews. For Netflix, Croft felt like a winning bet. To make matters even more exciting, the streamer-turned-television-producer announced that Hayley Atwell will voice Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.

Best known for playing special agent Peggy Carter in Marvel's Agent Carter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) Captain American films, Atwell has also starred in other action-forward fare, including Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Having appeared in an early season of Black Mirror, Atwell is also set to appear in Heartstopper season 3 — another hugely successful Netflix series. In addition to voicing Peggy Carter in multiple MCU projects, Hayley Atwell is an accomplished BBC Radio performer, making her a great fit to helm an animated series.

Hayley Atwell’s Lara Croft Is Older Than Vikander’s (But Younger Than Jolie’s)

Netflix's Lara Croft Isn't A Newcomer Or A Fully Seasoned Vet

Netflix's animated Tomb Raider series is sandwiched between the events of the Survivor trilogy and the original saga of games that were released from 1996 to 2003. Various timelines aside, Lara Croft's age in each of the installments suggests that The Legend of Lara Croft takes place after the reboot trilogy but before the original games. Since 2018's Tomb Raider movie starring Vikander was an origin story inspired by 2013's Tomb Raider, Atwell's Croft is older than Vikander's. However, the early 2000s Angelina Jolie-starring flicks, which echo Tomb Raider's classic games and comics, feature a slightly older Lara Croft.

Hayley Atwell’s Lara Croft Is The Same One From The Survivor Trilogy

The Legend Of Lara Croft Continues The 2013 Tomb Raider Reboot Saga's Story

While Vikander's Lara Croft was inspired by the Survivor trilogy, it's still a unique origin story. Meanwhile, Jolie's protagonist, who's most loosely based on the comics from around the early 2000s, is also distinct from any video game counterpart. That's where Netflix's adaptation differs. The Lara Croft of the Survivor trilogy is virtually the same character who will be leading Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Set in the Survivor trilogy's rebooted Tomb Raider continuity, the Netflix series will bridge a significant gap in the Tomb Raider timeline.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Not Yet Rated

Action

Adventure

Animation

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is a new animated action-adventure series developed for Netflix by Powerhouse Animation (Castlevania, Seis Manos) and Legendary Entertainment. The series is set to pick up after the events of the video game reboot trilogy some time after Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with Haley Atwell voicing the titular globe-trotting protagonist.

Cast

Haley Atwell

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

Franchise(s)

Tomb Raider