Amazon MGM Studios has set January 19, 2026 as the official start date for production on its live-action Tomb Raider series, and the project now has a headline name: Sophie Turner will play Lara Croft. The series draws from the longrunning video-game franchise and is being developed in partnership with Crystal Dynamics and Story Kitchen.
Sophie Turner steps into an iconic role
Turner — who first rose to international attention as Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones — confirmed her casting and expressed clear enthusiasm for the part. She called Croft “such an iconic character” and said she’s “giving everything I’ve got,” acknowledging the legacy left by Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander while signalling that this take will be guided by a new creative voice. Turner’s recent credits include the British crime limited series Joan and the thriller film Trust, and she is attached to additional projects that keep her schedule busy heading into the series’ production window.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge leads the creative vision
Phoebe Waller-Bridge serves as the series’ creator, writer, executive producer and co-showrunner. Best known for Fleabag and her work on Killing Eve, Waller-Bridge has been attached to this Tomb Raider adaptation since the project first emerged under her overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios. In announcing the team, she celebrated Turner and described the creative group as “wildly passionate about Lara,” inviting fans to “get your artifacts out… Croft is coming.”
A reshaped showrunner team and director
Jonathan Van Tulleken will direct and executive produce the series. Chad Hodge joins as co-showrunner and executive producer alongside Waller-Bridge; Hodge was previously brought into the project in a consulting role after earlier writers’ rooms failed to produce approved scripts, and his involvement ultimately expanded into a full showrunning role. Hodge’s past credits include creating and showrunning series such as Runaway, Wayward Pines and Good Behavior; Van Tulleken’s recent directing work includes Shōgun and Dope Thief.
How the series reached this point
The series was officially greenlit in May 2024. Turner emerged as the leading candidate roughly six months later, entering negotiations after testing and callbacks. Since then, the production has navigated periods of slow development — including multiple writers’ rooms that reportedly didn’t yield approved scripts — before arriving at the current creative configuration that Waller-Bridge, Hodge and Van Tulleken now lead. That back-and-forth helps explain why the show’s cameras are only now scheduled to roll, despite Waller-Bridge being tied to the property from the start.
A broad producing partnership
Tomb Raider’s production involves a wide group of partners and executive producers. Crystal Dynamics — the studio behind the modern Tomb Raider games — joins Story Kitchen and Amazon MGM Studios as production partners. Executive producing credits are shared across those companies and include Waller-Bridge and Jenny Robins through Wells Street Productions, Dmitri M. Johnson, Mike Goldberg and Timothy I. Stevenson through Story Kitchen, Michael Scheel, Chad Hodge, and Legendary Television. The collaboration aims to honor the franchise’s history while bringing fresh storytelling to the screen.
What Amazon is promising — and what fans can expect
Vernon Sanders, head of global television for Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, highlighted Lara Croft’s status as “one of the most recognizable and iconic video game characters of all time,” and praised Turner’s ability to convey the character’s courage and resolve. Amazon frames the series as both a tribute to the Tomb Raider legacy and a new set of adventures designed to appeal to longtime fans and newcomers alike.
Why this version feels different
Beyond the casting headlines, the combination of Waller-Bridge’s distinctive voice, Hodge’s scripted-drama experience, and Van Tulleken’s directing pedigree suggests the show will blend character-driven storytelling with the high-stakes action that fans expect from Lara Croft. Turner’s comments — acknowledging the “massive shoes to fill” while pledging to give the role her all — underscore the production’s intent to respect past interpretations while staking out its own identity.
