Netflix has announced the return of the original animated series Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft season 2 by Legendary Television. Based on the Tomb Raider video 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.

Netflix has officially renewed the animated series for season 2. Executive produced and written by The Witcher: Blood Origin's writer Tasha Huo, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft season 2 promises to show character 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 ing forces with her best friend Sam. Season 2 will involve more tombs as Lara goes on a hunt for ancient relics. Check out the official logline:

When adventurer Lara Croft discovers a trail of stolen African Orisha masks, she s 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:

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 Croft debuted at #9 on Netflix's Top 10 list with a fresh Rotten Tomatoes score that shows 73% of the critics approve of the animated series. Tomb Raider is 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 that Netflix wants to invest in The Legend of Lara Croft.

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 Croft will capture her growth through action-filled adventures and the inclusion of Lara's best friend Sam.

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 Croft offers an opportunity to safely create something new with the of a large fandom, which means a somewhat guaranteed viewership. This approach certainly has its own merits, but it also reflects the fact that the 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 Croft season 1 has 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.

Source: Netflix