Tomb Raider reboot to star Ex Machina's Alicia Vikander - report

Tomb Raider fans, meet your new Lara Croft.

Tomb Raider reboot to star Ex Machina's Alicia Vikander - report

The Tomb Raider movie reboot will star Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, according to the latest Hollywood whispers.

Word comes via the generally reliable Hollywood Reporter, which claims Vikander is hoping her first major franchise role will prove her chops as a bankable blockbuster star as well as an Oscar-worthy actor, as the original films it did for Angelina Jolie.

Vikander is perhaps best known for her role as android Eva in Ex Machina. She won the 2016 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in The Danish Girl, and has a role in the upcoming Jason Bourne among many other credits.

An MGM, Warner Bros and GK Films production, Tomb Raider will be directed by Roar Uthaug (The Wave) and tells Croft's origin story - as the most recent game reboot did. The script comes courtesy of TMNT writer Evan Daugherty.

Although the previous Tomb Raider film series didn't progress beyond two titles, both were box-office successes. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider pulled $274.7 million on a budget of $115 million despite a savaging from critics. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life managed a more modest $156.5 million on a budget of $95 million, and received better - if still pretty dire - reviews.

A third film was on the cards but Jolie wasn't interested in reprising her role, moving on to projects like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Alexander, Kung Fu Panda, Wanted, Salt - actually you know what? We'll be here all day. Long story short: her career took off in a big way.