According to a report from The Wrap, the long-awaited "Tomb Raider" reboot film will officially launch in theaters on March 16, 2018. The film will star Alicia Vikander in the titular role and it is further stated that she was cast this past April almost immediately after winning an Academy Award for her performance in "The Danish Girl."
According to the report, the release date has long been rumored to be reserved for another Warner Bros. Pictures movie, "The Flash," which will star Ezra Miller as Barry Allen aka the Flash. It is likely that this means the studios are shifting "The Flash" up to an earlier date or may be delaying it as they work on "Justice League" and the solo "Batman" movie.
The report further points out that the film is being produced by MGM Films and Warner Bros. Pictures now that they have acquired the movie rights from GK Films. It will also be a complete reboot, disregarding the events of the two previous iterations that starred Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft.
It is widely speculated that the new movie will closely follow the events of the 2013 "Tomb Raider" video game, which is a reboot for the game series. In the rebooted game the story focuses on a younger, inexperienced Lara Croft who has just begun her career, journeying to the mystical island of Yamati off the coast of Japan.
The studios have yet to confirm if the new film will closely resemble the story of the rebooted video game or if it will only be based on the events but still have its own spin on the tale. It is also unclear how much involvement developers Crystal Dynamics and game publisher Square-Enix have on the movie.
As stated by Gamesradar, the March 2018 release date will put the movie in direct competition against Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One" and Disney's "Wreck-It-Ralph 2."
