MGM has acquired the feature film rights to Tomb Raider and will develop the new action adventure franchise based on the Lara Croft video game franchise in partnership with GK Films, it was jointly announced today by Gary Barber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MGM and Graham King, Founder, GK Films.
GK Films had previously acquired the Tomb Raider film rights in 2011 from interactive entertainment company, Square Enix Ltd. King will serve as producer and development of the first film will begin immediately. No casting has been announced.
“Graham is one of the premier producers in this industry and I am delighted to be working with him on this exciting franchise. We look forward to developing more projects together in the future,” said Barber.
King said, “I am thrilled to partner with Gary and his MGM team on rebooting this successful ‘Tomb Raider’ film franchise. The enthusiasm over the recent game release is very encouraging and we can’t wait to bring it to the big screen.”
The original Tomb Raider game was published in 1996 by the London-based video game company Eidos and went on to become one of the most successful video games of the time. Eidos (including Crystal Dynamics) is now part of an international interactive entertainment group, Square Enix.
A pop culture phenomenon, the original Tomb Raider games have sold over 35 million game units worldwide making Lara Croft one of the most recognized names in the gaming industry. Most recently, Square Enix released the highly-anticipated reboot of the series, simply titled Tomb Raider, on March 5, 2013 to critical acclaim.
In 2001 and 2003, Paramount Pictures made two feature films starring Angelina Jolie and based on the daredevil archaeologist on a series of global missions. The films grossed a total of $432 million worldwide
