Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s long-awaited Tomb Raider TV series seems to have run into a wall as sources say the idea is ‘dead’.
Amazon Studios’ $100million bet on the British actress doesn’t seem to have paid off – yet – with the Fleabag creator’s scripts taking a long time to appear and then being judged not ready to shoot.
There are no signs of the series being filmed ‘in early 2025’, which was the promise from a Prime Video executive last year.
And Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner, who was reportedly in negotiations to play Tomb Raider protagonist Lara Croft, is busy with other films for much of this year.
‘I hear that it is not going ahead,’ says a source.
A spokesman for Prime Video had no comment; nor did representatives for Waller-Bridge.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s long-awaited Tomb Raider TV series is ‘dead’, according to sources
The British actress got stuck into the idea of bringing Lara Croft – previously played by Angelina Jolie (pictured) in the blockbuster series – to the small screen in 2022
Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner, who was reportedly in negotiations to star, is busy with other films for much of this year.
Waller-Bridge got stuck into the idea of bringing Lara Croft to the small screen in 2022 and a script was delivered around the middle of last year, according to sources.
But not a single minute of broadcast content has been developed to date. The project was dealt a serious blow last week when the executive who was overseeing the project, Jennifer Salke, was booted from her role as the head of Amazon Studios.
Salke, formerly head of entertainment at NBC, was the key negotiator who signed Waller-Bridge to a staggering $20million-a-year golden handcuffs deal back in 2019, when she was in demand after Fleabag.
That deal has become one of the most notorious flubs in Hollywood — a black mark against Salke which may even have contributed to her demise.
Waller-Bridge has taken on two acting roles over the past six years — in Disney’s Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny and animated Paramount film ‘IF’.
She also contributed to the script of 2021 James Bond film No Time To Die.
She was to have written and starred in a TV reboot of the film Mr And Mrs Smith, but quit her role in 2021. Her contributions to the project were so thoroughly erased she wasn’t even given a writing credit on the show, which eventually came out starring Maya Erskine and Donald Glover.
Notwithstanding all of the above, the handcuffs deal was renewed in 2022, and it was announced that Waller-Bridge was working on a big budget TV series based on the Tomb Raider video games.
Salke said in 2023: ‘When we look at a long-term commitment to a creator like Phoebe — we’re so happy now that we retained her because she’s obsessed with and grew up playing Lara Croft/Tomb Raider. The fact that she’s the creator and bringing this character to life, we think it’s going to be a huge franchise for us.’
Jennifer Salke, pictured left with the Fleabag creator in January, had been overseeing the project but was booted from her role as the head of Amazon Studios last week
In the past six years, the actress has contributed to the script of James Bond film No Time To Die starring Daniel Craig, pictured
She was to have written and acted in a TV reboot of the film Mr And Mrs Smith but wasn’t even given a credit on the show, which starred Maya Erskine and Donald Glover (pictured)
In an interview with Vanity Fair in the same year, Waller-Bridge said: ‘The opportunity to have… a female action character… having worked on Bond and having worked as an actor on Indy, I feel like I’ve been building up to this.
‘What if I could take the reins on an action franchise, with everything I’ve learned, with a character I adore, and also just bring back some of that 90s vibe?’
The first signs of serious trouble came last October when Waller-Bridge was not present at Amazon’s Trailblazers event in London, attended by Salke and other top creatives.
There was no mention, in three hours of interviews and trailers, of Tomb Raider.
Founder of entertainment website Puck, Matt Belloni, reports that Tomb Raider still doesn’t have a script, despite ‘millions’ being poured into developing the idea; and despite having gone through two writers’ rooms.
Other entertainment sites report that the script is being ‘extensively rewritten’.
Belloni also says that Waller-Bridge’s Amazon deal was quietly renewed before Salke departed, but it is now on a non-exclusive, first look basis; and for a fraction of the previous sum.
Accounts filed for her company PMWB Limited show a turnover of more than $24million in 2023. After costs of around $5million, the company made a gross profit of $19million. Director Waller-Bridge took a dividend of $2.2million.
