OUT FROM THE
SHADOWS Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft showrunner Tasha Huo reveals how the Netflix original series bridges the gap between eras of the classic games. BY SAM STONE
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or nearly 30 years, one of the biggest icons in video games has been Lara Croft, the unflappably cool protagonist of the Tomb Raider franchise. As development on the video game series continues into the current generation, Netflix has adapted Tomb Raider into its star-studded new original animated series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. Developed by Tasha Huo, the series is set after the events of 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider as Lara (Hayley Atwell) scrambles around the globe to stop the villainous Devereaux (Richard Armitage) from using an ancient relic that could plunge the world into complete chaos. In an exclusive interview, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft showrunner and executive producer Tasha Huo talks about bringing the beloved video game franchise to life on Netflix, explains the creative possibilities of connecting Shadow of the Tomb Raider with the classic games from the ’90s through the show, and teases what fans can expect when The Legend of Lara Croft premieres this October.
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Den of Geek: The Legend of Lara Croft takes place after Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which is a very rich creative ground. How was it having that trilogy of games as your narrative foundation? Tasha Huo: It’s really fun because even though we want to remain very faithful to what Crystal Dynamics is planning and what to look forward to in the games, it is this really cool in-between time where we kind of get to do, in some ways, whatever we want because we’re dealing with the baseline of who she was in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was this young woman just surviving and trying to get by. She is full of grief and does something so horrible as to usher in the apocalypse. We get to move her from that vulnerable place to the fun Lara Croft we remember from the very early games and the movies with Angelina Jolie. It’s this great transitional phase