2016 was another largely disappointing year for video game movies.Warcraftmay have done well at the worldwide box office, but it largely didn’t live up to the promise that it represented andAssassin’s Creedhas been largely panned by fans thus far and isn’t faring well at the box office. There are some promising projectson the horizon, though. Namely the current reboot ofTomb Raider, which recently castWalton Gogginsas the villain. Now he has opened up a bit more about his part in the movie.
TheJustifiedactor recently spoke withColliderand was asked about his role in the upcomingTomb Raiderreboot. His comments heaped praise on his co-starAlicia Vikander(who is playing the Lara Croft) and the directorRoar Uthaug, but he also talked about his character specifically. Here is what he had to say.
“I’m just so excited about it! I’m such a big fan of Alicia and this director, Roar [Uthaug]. Quite honestly, the script feels like it’s already been in the world, in some ways. The structure and the foundation of this story is so solid and so interesting. It’s so unbelievably entertaining, and yet it’s real in the journey that it takes you on. And this person that I get to play is confused and angry and desperate. I’m just looking forward to getting in his head. I’m really, really, really excited about it.”
Nobody can accuseWalton Gogginsof being unenthusiastic about his part in the newTomb Raidermovie and he certainly appears to be saying the right things. But saying the right things and doing the right things are two totally different concepts.Assassin’s CreedandWarcraftboth had everything (seemingly) going for them ahead of their release, but we know how those turned out.Gogginspreviously praised his fellow creatives involved in the movie, but he also has said that his villain isn’t a straight-up villain. Here is what he said in an interview with Yahoo! Movies recently.
“Is he a villain? Sure, that is an easy description. An antagonist, for sure. But [like other characters] I have been so lucky to have the opportunity to play over the course of my career, there are real reasons behind his antagonism, and it’s not what you’d expect. He is very complicated, and his motivations are pure.”
This newTomb Raideris said to be based on the most recent reboot of thevideo game series, which was started back in 2013. Specific details on the movie are a bit scarce, but it is said to follow a young Lara Croft who is searching for her missing father. The firstLara Croft: Tomb Raidermovie, which was released in 2001 and starredAngelina Joliein the lead role, also had a portion of the plot centered on her father, withJolieyounger thanVikanderin real life at the time. That movie did decent business at the box office, bringing in $274 million, which was good enough to justify a sequel.Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Lifedidn’t fare nearly as well, only grossing $156 million worldwide and neither movie was met with a ton of praise.
We will have to wait and see if this will be the video game movie we have been dying for, but at least encouraging things are being said and the talent is in place. The movie is reportedly going to start shooting next month, so hopefully we’ll get some more story details and possibly some set pics in the near future.Tomb Raideris currently set to hit theaters onMarch 16, 2018.
