Amazon's plan for a shared universe centered on Tomb Raider doesn't feel like the best possible future for the franchise. Apparently, Amazon's streaming service is deeply invested in the Lara Croft character. It already has three seperate Tomb Raider projects in the pipeline.
From the looks of things, Amazon is gearing up to follow in the footsteps of Marvel and DC by building a shared universe of movie and TV projects tied to the Tomb Raider franchise. In addition to developing a Tomb Raider TV series from writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Amazon is working on a reboot movie centered on a new cast of characters. Both the show and the film will be set in the same universe, as will a new Tomb Raider video game. Published by Amazon, the next game in the series, expected to be a story that takes the character back to her roots, will have a direct connection to Amazon's other two Lara Croft projects. But while it's interesting that Amazon has so much in store for the character, it's worth exploring the issues that come with taking such a surprising direction.
Tomb Raider's Shared Universe Idea Doesn't Work
Shared universes, such as the one that Marvel has built with the MCU, have the potential to work out extremely well for studios, but it's not an idea that works for every property. Essentially what gives a franchise a framework for a connected universe is a rich library of characters and plenty of lore. Obviously, Marvel and DC each have an abundance of superheroes they can draw from for years and years to come. Plus, there's so many occupying the same world that it's feasible for Marvel to have several of them active at the same time, headlining movies and also guest-starring in other characters' films when the need arises. Amazon, though, is hardly in a position to do the same with Tomb Raider, which has so much less to work with.
Of course, there are franchises that lack a massive pool of characters and stories and still have a pathway to success, but it's hard to imagine Tomb Raider being one of them. Legendary's MonsterVerse franchise, for instance, isn't just an American version of Toho's Godzilla series. Its world encomes Godzilla and King Kong, giving it not one, but two pop culture icons to devote stories to on the big screen. Tomb Raider, on the other hand, doesn't even have that luxury. It only boasts one character who can work as a protagonist. And when that same person is the lead character in every installment, it doesn't make sense to call their world a shared universe; it's just a series at that point.
Amazon's Plan Is A Bad Sign For Lara's Latest Reboot
Amazon's planned Tomb Raider movie isn't the first situation where a studio has announced a shared universe before it's ever had a chance to actually take off. One notable example of this is Universal's Dark Universe, which fizzled out after The Mummy failed to meet expectations. This goes to show that the confidence that Amazon clearly has in its Tomb Raider plans won't necessarily translate into success at the box office. Instead, it's a troubling sign for the reboot, especially since it's indicative of Amazon's intention to put too much emphasis on connectivity between all of its installments.
Marvel, who has the template Amazon is trying to copy, benefited when allowing its movies to stand apart from each other while also existing in the same world. They're all linked, of course, but most are able to tell their own stories without being held back by what happened in other characters' movies. But if Lara Croft's movie, show, video game, and any other project are all focused on the same character, it'll be challenging for any of its projects to stand on its own. The story could suffer if it winds up relying heavily on setup for the show and any sequel or spinoff that might follow.
Tomb Raider Must Pick Movies Or TV - Not Both
Amazon will struggle to balance a film series and a TV show with just one version of Lara Croft, hence why it's better for the streaming service to narrow its focus to one or the other. The 2001 and 2018 Tomb Raider movies did well enough to prove that a Lara Croft adventure can easily fit into the format of a two-hour movie. She could also work as the protagonist of a TV series, with single episodes - or multi-episode arcs - exploring individual expeditions undertaken by the character. All things considered, either approach can work, but taking both routes may prove unmanageable.
