Netflix has announced the return of the original animated seriesTomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croftseason 2 by Legendary Television. Based on theTomb Raidervideo game franchise, season 1 of the animated series centers around the adventurer Lara Croft (voiced by Hayley Atwell) as she confronts her traumatic past while trying to unravel an ancient mystery. Season 2 will further see her transformation from a rookie to an icon.

Netflixhas officially renewed the animated series for season 2. Executive produced and written byThe Witcher: Blood Origin’s writer Tasha Huo,Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croftseason 2 promises to showcharacter evolution for Lara as she goes from being “a lone wolf” to having a “cool team"while following a trail of stolen African Orisha masks. She’ll be joining forces with her best friend Sam. Season 2 will involvemore tombsas Lara goes on a hunt for ancient relics. Check out the official logline:

Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

When adventurer Lara Croft discovers a trail of stolen African Orisha masks, she joins forces with her best friend Sam to retrieve the precious artifacts. Lara’s thrilling new adventure takes her around the globe as she delves deeper into the hidden secrets of Orisha history, dodges the machinations of a dangerous and enigmatic billionaire who wants the masks for herself, while discovering these relics contain dark secrets and a power that defies logic. Power that may, in fact, be divine.

Huo teases that Lara might fight a shark in season 2. The showrunner details that while season 1 is about “Lara embracing how her dad dealt with grief,“season 2 would start shifting focus on building “Lara’s team,“which would be the long theme throughout the show. Check out what she said below:

Charles Devereaux looking confident as he puts two of the artifacts together in Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

So Season 1, thematically, is about Lara embracing how her dad dealt with grief, which was isolating. When we meet Lara, she’s very isolated … As we get into Season 2, we’re trying to build Lara’s team over the course of the show, so she goes from isolated hero, who only wants to do things on her own — a lone wolf — to realizing, ‘Actually, I have this really cool team behind me.’

What This Means For Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Netflix Has High Hopes For The Franchise

Despite being a new show,Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croftdebuted at #9on Netflix’s Top 10 list with a fresh Rotten Tomatoes score that shows 73% of the critics approve of the animated series.Tomb Raideris a big franchise and Lara Croft is a famed character. The renewal comes swiftly only two weeks after the premiere, which is a clear sign thatNetflix wants to invest inThe Legend of Lara Croft.

Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft Ending Explained

After walking through a compelling globe-trotting adventure, Tomb Raider: The Legend Of Lara Croft resolves all mysteries toward its ending moments.

The animated series takes place between the reboot trilogy and the original video games and serves to fill in the gap between the two. Huo’s comment further confirms that while the reboot trilogy serves as the character’s origin story,The Legend of Lara Croftwill capture her growth through action-filled adventures and the inclusion ofLara’s best friend Sam.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft poster

Our Take on The Legend of Lara Croft

It’s A Great Opportunity

It makes sense that Netflix wants to invest in another large franchise and develop a somewhat original story.The Legend of Lara Croftoffers an opportunityto safely create something new with the support of a large fandom, which means a somewhat guaranteed viewership. This approach certainly has its own merits, but it also reflects the fact thatthe streamer is taking a more conservative step in their content creation.

Pleasing an existing fan base isn’t an easy job. The expectation is high, and any wrong step could result in the fandom losing faith in the project.Tomb Raider:Legend of Lara Croftseason 1has a surprisingly low rating among the audience on Rotten Tomatoes with only a 32% approval rate. While the established franchise offers an opportunity, season 2 will need some course corrections to not repeat season 1’s fate.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Cast

This animated series follows the iconic tomb-raider Lara Croft as she embarks on thrilling adventures, exploring ancient civilizations and uncovering hidden secrets. Balancing intellect and physical prowess, Lara navigates treacherous environments and encounters formidable adversaries, all while striving to protect the world’s archaeological treasures.