By Ben Wheatley is perhaps best known for Kill List, his 2011 hitman horror film. I’m a huge fan of that and Wheatley’s other work, particularly his mind-bending period piece A Field in England. If you don’t know his work I can’t recommend it enough. Which is partly why I can now pass a lie-detector when I say that I’m excited for the next Tomb Raider film.
The 2018 Tomb Raider wasn’t a particularly good film, though it did well enough that MGM quickly greenlit a sequel, continuing Lara Croft’s (Alicia Vikander) craft cave crawling… in some capacity. We learned back in April that Wheatley’s writing-collaborator Amy Jump would be scripting Tomb Raider, so it makes a little sense that MGM would come forward today to announce that Ben Wheatley will in fact be directing the adventurous sequel.
It does seem like quite a leap for the horror and surrealism-minded Wheatley, though one might argue his most recent films (High-Rise and Free Fire) were edging towards something closer-resembling a “mainstream” indie film.
Hopefully Wheatley and Jump can up the oomph for the Tomb Raider sequel, which is now set to be released on March 19th, 2021.
Ben Wheatley Set To Direct Alicia Vikander In ‘Tomb Raider’ Sequel; MGM Sets Release Date [Deadline]