Tomb Raider is in search of a new home. Studios and streamers are bidding to acquire the film rights to the property that for nine years was at MGM and has now returned to producer Graham King and his GK Films.
Opening bids were taken last week, but things have escalated into a bidding war.
Alicia Vikander starred in a 2018 Tomb Raider reboot for MGM and GK Films that earned $275 million globally and was to have a sequel directed by Lovecraft County creator Misha Green. That project is now dead, and the role is expected to be recast. The Wrap first reported the news.
MGM, which recently was sold to Amazon, was involved with Tomb Raider thanks to a 2013 deal with GK Films, which acquired the film rights from video game maker Square Enix in 2011. MGM did not respond to a request for comment.
Before Tomb Raider’s time at MGM, Angelina Jolie starred in two features based on the character and released by Paramount: Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003). Those films brought in a combined $432 million worldwide. The property debuted in games in 1996.
The bidding war comes as studios and streamers are hungrier than ever for known IP. One source describes the situation as a “feeding frenzy.”