Tomb Raider's Alicia Vikander reveals how her Lara Croft is different from Angelina Jolie's

Alicia Vikander will be picking up a bow and arrow to play Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider movie reboot next year, but she's very aware that she's not the first actress to take on the role of the iconic video game character.

Talking to our sister publication Total Film magazine, Vikander talked about Angelina Jolie's version and how her Lara Croft will differ. “[Angelina] made that an iconic role,” says Vikander. “I knew we wouldn’t be able to redo that, and that’s not what we’re trying to do either. We go back to the beginning, and tell the origin story.” 

Read more: Take aim at these exclusive new images of Alicia Vikander in the Tomb Raider movie

At the beginning of the 2018 movie, Lara's backstory has dispensed with the privilege and butlers, and she now works for a bicycle courier company and lives in a communal space while she figures out what she wants to do with her life. It certainly marks a change of pace from the 2001 movie, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, and its risible 2003 sequel, The Cradle of Life

“What I like is that there will be a lot of young people, a lot of girls, who feel like they can relate to her,” Vikander continues. “She’s trying to figure out her path in life, who she is, and what her history is.” Director Roar Uthaug adds that his main goal was “to make the audience care about Lara Croft and invest in her as a real character.”

You’ll get to see the new Lara Croft in action come March 16, 2018, but to tide you over until then why not pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film which includes on-set interviews with Vikander, Uthaug, and co-stars Walton Goggins and Dominic West? Plus, it also includes a full 2018 movie preview. 

Pick up the new issue of Total Film magazine when it hits shelves on December 22, 2017 or, better yet, subscribe so you never miss an issue! Doing so will net you a fancy (and very exclusive) subscriber cover, and My Favourite Magazines is currently running a Christmas sale that allows you to save up to 43% on a Total Film subscription!

The new issue also comes with four cool gifts, including a 2017 Review of the Year, Star Wars stickers, a Deadpool 2 art card, and a 100 Greatest TV shows ebook. Look out for the below cover on newsstands from December 22...

(Image credit: Total Film/Warner Bros)
Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.