Next to video games, our favorite pastime here at CraveOnline playing casting director. It’s a great gig if you can get it, rounding up the names of the most exciting and viable actors and actresses in Hollywood and figuring out which awesome roles they would kick ass with. And with the announcement of an all new, rebooted Tomb Raider movie franchise there’s at least one role that every actress in the entertainment industry is going to be gunning for: Lara Croft.
Originally played in two motion pictures by Angelina Jolie, who was actually really good even though the movies were (at best) just alright, Lara Croft is one of the most visible and respected female action heroes in the popular culture. A smart, physically fit archaeologist who thinks and shoots her way out of increasingly exciting and pulpy adventures, she’s got the potential to be the next big action heroine. Again.
Check Out: The Long-Awaited ‘Tomb Raider’ Reboot Moves Forward at Warner Bros.
And the time is rife for more action heroines, after the blockbuster success of Lucy and the oncoming onslaught of female superhero movies like Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and Painkiller Jane. So Warner Bros. is bound to have one hell of a job on their hands picking just the right actress to take charge of this new/rebooted franchise. Since we desperately want the new Tomb Raider movies to be really, genuinely good this time, CraveOnline wanted to throw our two cents into the mix to make sure Hollywood doesn’t screw it up.
So what follows is our list of ten actresses, all of them native Brits (or at least from the general vicinity), all of them between their early 20s and their early 30s, who have the potential – at least – to make Lara Croft their own and bring Tomb Raider back to the forefront of badass action cinema.
Ten Actresses Who Would Make a Great Lara Croft:
What do you think? Did we leave anyone out? Let us know in the comments who YOU would like to play Lara Croft in the new Tomb Raider franchise.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
Ten Actresses Who Would Make a Great Tomb Raider
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Hayley Atwell
You Know Her From: Agent Carter
Hayley Atwell was already making an impression on art house audiences with roles in costume dramas like Brideshead Revisited and The Duchess when she blew American audiences away as Agent Peggy Carter in the first Captain America movie. Now she's kicking butt in the acclaimed TV series Agent Carter, proving week in and week out that she's got the chops to carry her own action franchise.
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Emily Blunt
You Know Her From: Edge of Tomorrow
Before Scarlett Johansson took on the role of The Black Widow in Iron Man 2, the part had already gone to Emily Blunt. (She had to bow out due to scheduling issues with Gulliver's Travels, believe it or not.) But in the years since, Blunt has proven her action chops in acclaimed sci-fi thrillers like Looper and Edge of Tomorrow. We know she can kick ass. Raiding tombs doesn't seem like much of a stretch.
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Niamh McGrady
You Know Her From: The Fall
Although her resume isn't as long as many of the other actresses on this list, Niamh McGrady could be the kind of fresh face the new Tomb Raider movies need to build an all-new identity. As P.C. Danielle Ferrington on the hit TV series The Fall, she brings integrity and honesty to the ongoing murder mystery that could bring the new Tomb Raider a welcome dose of reality as Lara Croft fights off wave after wave of rival archaeologists and monsters.
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Felicity Jones
You Know Her From: The Theory of Everything
Fresh off her first Academy Award nomination, and apparently free of her obligations to the now defunct Amazing Spider-Man franchise (where she was already in place to play The Black Cat), Felicity Jones is bound to be on the short list for Tomb Raider and practically any other major motion picture currently in development. But with her upcoming starring role in the first Star Wars spin-off, would she even have the time?
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Keira Knightley
You Know Her From: Pirates of the Caribbean
Keira Knightley commanded fleets of pirates in a blockbuster Disney franchise, but since then she hasn't returned to the action genre except as a second banana in the disappointing Jack Ryan reboot. If she ever gets tired of racking up the Academy Awards nominations (two and counting), Tomb Raider would be a great opportunity for Knightley to finally claim a blockbuster series of her very own.
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Tatiana Maslany
You Know Her From: Orphan Black
The star (and co-stars) of the acclaimed clone saga Orphan Black reportedly lost the lead role in the Star Wars spin-off to Felicity Jones. Taking the lead in the Tomb Raider series would be an awesome bit of revenge. Tatiana Maslany has undeniable acting chops - convincingly playing opposite herself in multiple roles, week after week - and we already know she can hold her own in a fight sequence. Warner Bros. would be foolish not to put her on their most wanted list.
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Kaya Scodelario
You Know Her From: The Maze Runner
The young star of Wuthering Heights and The Maze Runner is already tearing through Hollywood with one memorable role after another. A starring turn in a hit action franchise probably isn't far behind. She can hold her own in an action sequence and act the hell of complicated classic literature. Kaya Scodelario could easily bring both intensity and depth to Lara Croft.
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Emma Watson
You Know Her From: Harry Potter
After spending almost half her life playing Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter movies, it may seem a little unlikely that Emma Watson would commit to headlining another potential franchise so soon. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have the potential to be great at it, provided the Tomb Raider reboot is planning to depict a younger Lara Croft at the beginning of her adventures.
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Perdita Weeks
You Know Her From: As Above, So Below
There's no need for guesswork with Perdita Weeks, since the actress has already played Lara Croft (more or less) in the underrated supernatural adventure As Above, So Below. What's more, she was great at it. Weeks captured the adventurous spirit, physical strength and wily intelligence necessary to play the actual, proper Lara Croft perfectly on screen. Cast her now, Warner Bros. You'll be glad you did.
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Ruth Wilson
You Know Her From: Luther
She played an alluring sociopath on Luther, and although The Lone Ranger sucked, it sure as hell wasn't her fault. Ruth Wilson is making an indelible impression on audiences with one remarkable role after another - most recently on the acclaimed Showtime series The Affair - and frankly, after sidelining her in a notorious box office bomb, we think Hollywood owes her another chance. Ruth Wilson would kick ass as Lara Croft.
