Tomb Raider fans, God bless them, spend a lot of time wondering how the series fits together. If the Lara Croft we saw in the original ’90s games is the same as the rougher Lara from the Survivor trilogy, then what happened in between to make it all make sense?
Fortunately, answers are on the horizon. Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics has already unveiled a new design for Lara that combines her post-Survivor Trilogy look with retro costumes, a commitment to the “unified” timeline. But as far as history goes, the new thing Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is making a big upswing.
Earlier this month, showrunner Tasha Huo explained that her goal for the Netflix animated series was to show the gap between the Survivor trilogy and classic games. But Lara doesn’t make it to the end of the first season, even after defeating the Light, finding closure over the death of Conrad Roth, reconnecting with his daughter Camilla Roth, embracing Jonah, and adopting her first pair of dual pistols. That’s because Huo knew there would be more stories to tell if the show was a hit, and she didn’t want OG Lara to get fully fit.
“I don’t want to just make her become a classic Lara, because it takes a lot to build that woman,” says the showrunner. “So Season 2 will build on what we’ve already seen and bring them even closer together.”
Specifically, Lara goes in search of Sam, her filmmaker friend, who first appeared in 2013 Grave robber. Sam was working on a job “abroad” when Jonah last heard from her, but a dropped call from the old friend is enough to put Lara on high alert. The end of the first season gives few details about where the adventure might take her: In Sam’s apartment, Lara finds signs of a struggle – a broken coffee cup, an overturned chair, a broken picture frame – and a board of yarn They brought with them some stolen artifacts shady guy in a tracksuit with a scar and photos of cocaine.
Huo wasn’t willing to reveal any details of the plot, but says that the plot was carefully planned to allow Lara to continue to grow and have leeway when it comes to trying something new Grave robber was to earn even more seasons. One of the top priorities in Season 2: continue to highlight Lara’s sense of humor.
“Maybe she’ll find it in Sam,” Huo says. “Sam has a lighter personality. There is also a lot more for Lara to learn. So in Success and in these never-ending seasons, we can explore all the lessons and how these adventures actually challenge her to become ever closer to the woman we remember from the ’90s.”
For Huo, this classic version of Lara is also over-composed, in a way that she is not yet at the stage of her life that she is at Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is set. Yes, Lara Croft would rather raid a grave than undergo therapy – but Huo wants to help the character find her composure in the next archaeology-driven globetrotting mission. Just like the history-loving showrunner wants to convey Grave robber With lots of real history and culture-specific specifics, she also wants to beat the drum for real self-care.
“A lot of it comes from meditation, balance, having all of these chaotic things within you and still somehow finding a way through calm and self-control,” Huo says. “I am a huge proponent of therapy and self-analysis as a way to simply grow as a person. It’s fantastic. And I’m glad Lara can do that. She hates therapy! Using adventure as therapy is a really great way for Lara to learn how to be better.”
