Obviously, this new Amazon MGM Studios grabbed all the headlines with their announcement of an original Tomb Raider series. These announcements and developments have certainly caused quite a bit of excitement in the gaming community. Production for the live-action adaptation had officially been set to begin on January 19, 2026. Yes, that is the date. A couple of quotations were then shared with the public from Sophie Turner, newly cast as Lara Croft, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, producer, writer, executive producer, and basically co-showrunner of everything.
Instead, the official Tomb Raider account retweeted the news and told fans to go and read all about their plans to take the series into production. But the replies turn into a raw outpouring of doubt and outright fury. Madness!
Immediately, gamers are, by the very skin of their teeth, not feeling Sophie Turner as Lara. Not at all. One user went into a rant about it. Slavomír Pavlišák stated that it was a “terrible casting choice” and that Sophie has the “acting skills of a wooden plank.” They shove Hayley Atwell down everyone’s throats, “because she can actually act” and, uh, has the right… assets. Yeah, they went there. Don Coyote then posted a picture of Hayley Atwell with the caption “Hayley was literally right there. Smh.”
Then there is Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Her involvement is a massive red flag for many. Numerous comments blame her for “ruining Indiana Jones” and stating this will be “the next failure.” Sven was straightforward: “Phoebe Waller-Bridge already ruined Indiana Jones and this will be the next failure.” The sentiment is echoed on every platform, with people proclaiming the show “dead already” and a “disaster” before a single frame has been shot.
It is not only with the talent involved. A great deal of gamers is puzzled as to why we are getting this show when all they want is a new game. Comments, like, “Bout new game?” and “How about they reveal the next mainline game after Shadow of the Tomb Raider” are popping up everywhere. Another, titled Bossy_Cat, posted a gif of disappointment, logged with “We expected news about TR12 OR LAU REMASTERS.” Clearly, a big chunk of the fans would rather be holding a controller in their hands rather than a remote.
In the midst of negativity, these few have gone with cautious optimism, but such voices are already being drowned out. Christian Rautiainen pondered, “Sometimes you have to take risks. Ledger as the Joker or Affleck/Pattinson as Batman. I’m not saying Sophie didn’t screw up as Phoenix, but I’m not gonna judge her until I see her as Lara.” Even this reasonable view was met with “0 faith whatsoever” immediately.
And then there were just the annoyingly weird comments worthy of a head shake. One guy simply said, “Sophie turner is flat,” while posting a picture of a flat-chested Lara Croft model from the classic games. Then DawlFaze went way off-topic and replied to the official announcement with a picture of their own Lara Croft cosplay, demanding, “Drop the new Lara Croft already!” Internet is a weird place, mate.
So, yeah, the hype train for Amazon’s Tomb Raider is, uh, very much yet to leave the station. More like it’s been derailed before it could ever get on the tracks. Since this production has a start date more than a year and a half away, they have a long road ahead in trying to win a bunch of upset players who simply don’t want to be involved at the moment. They have strong opinions on the actress, major beef with the writer, and would rather have a game. Wish everyone involved good luck; they are surely going to need it. The road till 2026 is going to be a very long one.
