Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is an American animated action adventure television series based on the Tomb Raider video game series by Crystal Dynamics, starring Hayley Atwell as the voice of Lara Croft. The series is set in the same continuity as the video game reboot trilogy that started in 2013, and takes place after the events of the 2018 game Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Tasha Huo served as showrunner with Legendary Television and DJ2 Entertainment producing, and it was animated by Powerhouse Animation Studios. The series premiered on Netflix on October 10, 2024. It was renewed for a second season in October 2024.
The series takes place after the Tomb Raider reboot trilogy, which concluded with Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and it fills in the gap in the timeline, bridging the reboot trilogy to the original series of games.
In January 2021, it was reported that Netflix had ordered an anime-style television series based on Tomb Raider. The initial order is for two seasons and was produced by Crystal Dynamics, Legendary Television, DJ2 Entertainment and Tractorpants. The series was animated by Powerhouse Animation Studios and additional animation by Korea's Red Dog Animation. Tasha Huo served as showrunner and executive produced alongside Dmitri M. Johnson, Timothy I. Stevenson, Howard Bliss and Jacob Robinson. The writers' room broke in May 2021.
On October 25, 2024, Netflix renewed the series for a second season. Upon the second season renewal, it was stated that the second season will advance Lara's character, covering the topic of "trail of stolen African Orisha masks" and join forces with Sam, her best friend, along with possible punching of a shark, with Huo saying that the season will focus on building Lara's team. It was further stated that Huo, Johnson, Robinson, Dickenson, Hughes, Gliss, Chambers, and Hughes will remain executive producers, and Huo will be a series writer.
In September 2021, it was announced that Hayley Atwell would voice Lara Croft. Earl Baylon reprised his role as Jonah Maiava from the video game reboot trilogy. In October 2021, Allen Maldonado joined the cast as Lara's tech expert, Zip, a character who was first introduced in the 2000 game Tomb Raider: Chronicles, and had not appeared in the franchise since the 2008 game Tomb Raider: Underworld. The series also marks his first appearance in the reboot continuity.
Following the release of the first season, Matt Patches interviewed showrunner Tasha Huo for Polygon and noted that Camilla Roth's character is a new creation for the series. She told the outlet that she wanted Lara Croft's character to realize that the vision she had of her father and Camilla's father was "complicated and not perfect, and to stop looking up to them" as a model for herself, and noted Camilla's character as a "key element" in the growth of Lara's character. She also told the outlet that there were other scenes, cut from the series, which had Camilla telling more stories about her father, said she is eager to see how fans respond to the series, remarking "I am happy when anyone ships anybody. It's all fun to see. Everyone's art is fantastic. It's great!" and called Camilla different from the men Lara had " been in the shadows of before." In another interview with the same publication, Huo said that the second season would build upon the existing story and said that it would "explore all the lessons and how those adventures actually challenge her to take those increasing steps closer to being the woman we remember from the '90s." She also noted that while she is a proponent of self-analysis and therapy, she noted that Lara's character uses "adventure as therapy," saying it is a great way for the character to "learn how to be better."
The first season of Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft was released on Netflix on October 10, 2024.
The series received mostly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 73% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A solid animated adaptation, The Legend of Lara Croft does a fine job of adding new dimensions to the iconic hero while chartering an adventure that's not quite worthy of her." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the first season a score of 65 out of 100, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Ryan Mcccaffrey of IGN criticized the series not being compelling, having "generic and minimalist" animation, and lacking humor, asserted that villain Charles Devereaux engaged in villainy in "comic-book-esque levels of camp," and said that he would not be tuning into a season 2. In contrast, Kayleigh Dray of The Guardian described Lara Croft "performing seemingly impossible feats in the name of archaeology" from the beginning of the series, saying her character was re-imagined in a more feminist way as compared to her original debut, retained the appeal of previous iterations, and Lara was, in her view, "the undisputed custodian of her own complicated life at long last." Sam Stone of Den of Geek said the series provides a "natural evolution for Lara and her journey" while avoiding having its story rooted to the game's events, while remaining thrilling, and having Lara's character as "more confident, self-aware, and fun-loving." Katie Doll of CBR said that the series fills in "missing gaps of Lara's life that weren't previously explored" and argues that Devereaux's character mirrors Lara while the series explores who Lara is as a person beyond a tomb raider, including her trauma, and praised Atwell's voice acting for Lara and the fluid animation in the series.
Nate Richard of Collider praised Lara's character development during the series, but said the series takes a while to get going, praised the voice acting of Atwell, Richard Armitage (as Devereaux) and noted that the relationship between Lara and Camilla Roth is a big highlight, hinting at possible romance between them, and hoped that Camille's character appears in future installments. Rendy Jones of Rogerebert.com said the animated series is the best adaptation of Lara's character, noted the "sharply-angled character designs" and said that animators preserved the "action-adventure elements from the source material" and noted that many scenes and locations flow with "artistic exhilaration," and praised the voice performance of Atwell, arguing it is enhanced by "bold imagery more akin to a psychological thriller." Lyvie Scott of Inverse said the series feels like the "most accurate on-screen portrayal" of Lara and her world and called it a "compelling watch" for long-time and new fans alike.
Manuel Betancourt of The A.V. Club called the series enjoyable because it sticks with the basics of a Tomb Raider tale, while anchoring Lara's emotional journey in her grief following Roth's death, along with entertaining sequences, allowing her to "showcase her wit, knowledge, and many badass moves." Lauren Rouse of Game Rant said the series provides a new look at Lara's story, including her vulnerabilities, praises Atwell's voice acting, calls Devereaux an "excellent foil to Lara's character," and lauds the animation style which harkens back to "classic cartoons" in some ways. In another review, Rouse said that the series is "depicted in an anime style" and compared it to other video game adaptations which have been animated, such as Castlevania, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Dota: Dragon's Blood, Arcane: League of Legends, and Dragon Age: Absolution.
Other reviewers gave a mixed reception. Willa Rowe of Kotaku criticized the pacing, plot, and characters, like Devereaux, but praised the performance of Lara Croft as "stunning" and calling her the "saving grace" of the series, and compared the series negatively to Castlevania, and hoped the second season would be better. This contrasted with Marcelo Leite of Screen Rant who praised the animation as echoing the Tomb Raider games, and captures what gameplay is like. Matt Patches of Polygon noted that the series reframed "Conrad Roth's legacy in dramatic fashion," called the scene between Camilla Roth and Lara Croft to possibly be "the steamiest scene in all of Tomb Raider" and asserted that the relationship between both characters either has the vibes of Korrasami (Korra and Asami Sato from The Legend of Korra) or a "deep friendship."
Stanley Hanley, in an article for TheGamer, asserted that the franchise should "stop" trying to create Tomb Raider lore, and stated that Lara's theft of a cursed artifact "sort of delivers consequences to her actions" but criticized it for feeling like viewers should be "sad because she stole something." This differed from Renaldo Matadeen of CBR who noted that the Tomb Raider franchise "didn't acknowledge the damaging nature of European colonialism," argued that the series begins with Lara Croft giving a "white plunder vibe," but ultimately wants to hold "herself accountable in a way that shows growth," differing from Indiana Jones, The Goonies, and National Treasure, even not wanting the relics in her mansion, and saying that the second season it set up for Lara to "explore more cultures," broadening her worldview. However, he notes that although Lara stops her father's relics from being auctioned, she gives them to a museum, even though museums also "contribute to the theft of indigenous artifacts" and points to a scene in Black Panther, but praised the series for having Lara's character self-reflect and challenge "her reasons for treasure hunting."