Tomb Raider film sequel to be helmed by High Rise director

A sequel to 2018’s Tomb Raider film has been dated by movie studio MGM.

Directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, it’s set to be released on March 19, 2021, Deadline reports.

Wheatley’s previous director credits include Kill List, A Field in England, High Rise and Free Fire. His wife Amy Jump was a writer on each of those films and is also penning the script for the new Tomb Raider movie.

Production on the sequel will reportedly begin in early 2020.

While it was poorly received by many critics, 2018’s Tomb Raider film grossed $274 million worldwide, equal to the sum generated by the original Angelina Jolie-starring Tomb Raider movie in 2001.

Pokémon Detective Pikachu reportedly surpassed 2016’s Warcraft to become the highest-grossing film ($436 million) based on a video game in July 2019.

On the game front, publisher Square Enix launched the final DLC pack for Shadow of the Tomb Raider in April.

2018 release Shadow of the Tomb Raider is the concluding game in Crystal Dynamics‘ Tomb Raider reboot trilogy. Chronicling Lara Croft’s origin story, it began with 2013’s Tomb Raider and continued with 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider.