Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft: What's the future of video game adaptations?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander of "The Danish Girl" has reportedly been cast as the title character in an upcoming "Lara Croft" movie.
The character previously came to the screen in such movies as 2001's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," in which she was portrayed by Angelina Jolie. Lara appeared in the "Tomb Raider" video games, first released in 1996.聽
Like many other new versions of old properties, the upcoming film starring Ms. Vikander will be an origin story, , with the movie centering on a Lara who just beginning her journey as a swashbuckling archaeologist.聽
In addition to her Academy Award-winning performance in "Danish," Vikander has appeared in "Ex Machina," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," and "Testament of Youth," among other films.
Monitor film critic Peter Rainer called her a "ferociously intuitive performer鈥ou can鈥檛 take your eyes off her" in "Youth."
2001's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" is still the highest-grossing film adaptation of a video game in the US. The "Lara Croft" series was never a success with critics, however.聽
The genre of video game adaptations has struggled, but this year will see various studios attempting to bring hit video games to the big screen.聽
The animated film "Ratchet & Clank," which is now in theaters, is based on a video game of the same name and next month will see "The Angry Birds Movie," an animated take on the popular phone game, arrive in theaters.聽
Meanwhile, one of the summer blockbusters that will appear this year is "Warcraft," which is based on the massively multiplayer roleplaying game "World of Warcraft" and stars Dominic Cooper, Paula Patton, and Ben Foster.聽
"This is a genre waiting to erupt," Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst at comScore, . "It's a huge untapped resource that's yet to be fully realized on the big screen and grab a huge audience."
