EXCLUSIVE: In what is shaping up to be one of the hottest TV casting searches this fall, Amazon MGM Studios has assembled a wishlist of accomplished young actors for the role of Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, Prime Video’s high-profile series adaptation of the video game franchise from Emmy-winning Fleabag creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Sophie Turner (Game Of Thrones) and Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody) are poised to test for the part previously played on the big screen by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander, sources tell Deadline.
It is unclear who else would be doing a test for the famous role, a process that has been shrouded in secrecy. Some of the names on the wishlist alongside Turner and Boynton, including Emma Corrin and Mackenzie Davis, are not believed to be testing. A rep for Amazon MGM Studios declined comment.
The combination of one of the best known action heroines in popular culture and one of the top female TV creators in Waller-Bridge has tuned Lara Croft into a hotly pursued role for actors in their late 20s and 30s.
Tomb Raider, which Amazon MGM Studios Head Jennifer Salke called “epic” and “globe-trotting” while announcing the series order in May, has been a passion project for writer/executive producer Waller-Bridge, who spoke fondly of the title character at the time of the pickup.
“Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all,” she said in May.
Tomb Raider is executive produced by Waller-Bridge and Jenny Robins through Wells Street Productions, Dmitri M. Johnson through dj2 Entertainment, Michael Scheel, and rights holders Legendary Television as well as Crystal Dynamics. Greenblatt and Andolina are consulting producers under their Star Party banner. The series is produced by Crystal Dynamics and Amazon MGM Studios.
Turner, an Emmy nominee for her first major role as Sansa Stark on Game Of Thrones, currently headlines the British crime drama limited series Joan and next stars in another British show, Haven, for Prime Video, home the Tomb Raider series.
Boynton, known for her roles in Bohemian Rhapsody and Murder On the Orient Express, most recently headlined Searchlight’s The Greatest Hits and next plays the title role in the British historical miniseries A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.
