The Netflix animated series,Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft,is the perfect show to watch while waiting for the nextTomb Raidervideo game to be released. First launched in 1996,Tomb Raideris considered to be one of the greatest video game franchises in history. The series depicts Lara Croft, an archaeologist who travels the world searching for historical artifacts while dealing with enemies attempting to stop her. Throughout her adventures, Lara also battles vicious sea creatures and ancient monsters who guard the treasures she searches for.

The success of theTomb Raidervideo games resulted in the release of several movie adaptations, mobile games, spinoffs, andan upcomingTomb RaiderAmazon TV series. In 2024, Netflix announced the release of the animated series,The Legend of Lara Croft.The Legend of Lara Croft’s castincludes Hayley Atwell and Earl Baylon, voicing characters made famous by the video games. While the release date of the next upcomingTomb Raidergame has yet to be announced,Netflix’sThe Legend of Lara Croftis certainly a series to watch while waiting for updates.

Netflix’s The Legend of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider games

The Legend Of Lara Croft Is A Sequel To Shadow Of The Tomb Raider

Shadow Of The Tomb Raider Was Released In 2018

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croftdepicts Lara taking the first steps in moving on from her past and hosting an auction to sell her family’s possessions. While Lara makes a speech at the auction, Charles Deveraux, voiced by Richard Armitage (who also voicedCastlevania’sTrevor Belmont), steals an artifact box from a previous expedition to Chile. Upon opening the box, Deveraux is consumed by its power, which has the potential to destroy the world. With the help of her friends and her father’s journal,Lara journeys after Deveraux to stop him and recover the artifact.

The Legend of Lara Crofttakes place within theTomb Raidertimelineand serves as a sequel to the 2018 action-adventure video gameShadow of the Tomb Raider. The series starts around three years after the events ofShadow of the Tomb Raider, with Lara attempting to move on from the loss of her friend, Conrad Roth, as came to pass in the video games. The Netflix series also includes many supporting characters seen in theSurvivorgame trilogy and offers an idea of what happened to Lara and her friends in the aftermath ofShadow of the Tomb Raider.

Lara Croft running across a cave in Tomb Raider The Legend of Lara Croft

How Netflix’s Animated Lara Croft Show Compares To The Tomb Raider Movies

The Tomb Raider Movies Have Been Mixed So Far

The Netflix animatedTomb Raiderseries was met with a positive response upon release, withreviews forThe Legend of Lara Croftpraising the series for Lara’s character development, Powerhouse’s animation, and the voice acting. While there was some criticism of the series' safe and predictable storyline,The Legend of Lara Croftwas considered by many to be a strong continuation of the title character’s storyand a worthy sequel to theSurvivorvideo game trilogy. Additionally,The Legend of Lara Croftcurrently holds the franchise’s highest Rotten Tomatoes scoreand has been favorably compared to the previous three movie adaptations.

It Has Never Been A Better Time To Be A Tomb Raider Fan

Tomb Raider fans won’t be short of content in the next few years between two different adaptations, including the franchise’s first live-action show.

TheTomb Raiderfranchise has seen the release of three movie adaptations between 2001 and 2018. The first two starred Angelina Jolie as Lara, while the 2018Tomb Raidermovie features Alicia Vikander in the title role. While bothJolie and Vikander offered different portrayals of Lara Croft that were positively received,theTomb Raidermovies were criticized for their storylines, their lackluster action sequences, and failing to properly utilize the game’s source material.It is certainly not a masterpiece, butThe Legend of Lara Croftis considered superior to the movies andis ranked as the bestTomb Raideradaptation.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft poster

The Legend Of Lara Croft Will Make You Want To Play The Survivor Trilogy Again

The Survivor Trilogy Is Considered The Best In The Series

A second reboot of theTomb Raidergames was announced in 2013 and was billed by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix as theSurvivortrilogy. Starting with the 2013 video game,Tomb Raider,theSurvivortrilogy re-established Lara Croft’s origins and depicted her as a young, inexperienced explorerwho must rescue her friends after they are shipwrecked on the Yamatai island, later investigating a military organization named Trinity while dealing with her past demons. TheTomb RaiderSurvivortrilogy was acclaimed for its plot, gameplay, and environments and is consideredone of the best rebooted video game franchises.

The animated series is faithful to the franchise’s adventure theme and contains powerful action sequences that make viewers believe they’re playing the Tomb Raider games.

The Legend of Lara Croftcontains the critical elements that will make viewers want to replay theSurvivortrilogy after watching the animated adaptation. The animated series is faithful to the franchise’s adventure theme and contains powerful action sequences thatmake viewers believe they’re playing theTomb Raidergames. It also depicts Lara learning from her experiences in theSurvivortrilogy, perfectly continuing her character’s growth from the games. Thus,with a second season officially confirmed,Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croftproves to be a strong adaptation and is the perfect watch while waiting for the next video game.