Before the release of Tomb Raider (2018), Alicia Vikander expressed interest in returning as Lara Croft for a second film.
Principal photography was scheduled to start in April 2020 with filming taking place across a number of countries including England, South Africa, Finland and China and looking to deliver a faithful adaptation of the games' story. The movie will allegedly be embracing more of the supernatural elements and tones that gamers have connected with. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was delayed until summer of 2020, with filming taking place in England and South Africa; the film was set for a March 19, 2021 release date but was also removed from the studio's release schedule.
MGM picked up the movie after Warner Bros. Pictures dropping out of the project. Warner will release the sequel internationally.
It was announced in Jan. 2021 that Ben Wheatley will no longer be directing the film. He will be replaced by Lovecraft Country (2020) creator Misha Green who will direct and write the video game adaptation. This will be Green's feature film debut after helming several TV episodes. Wheatley moved onto directing Meg 2: The Trench (2023).