INTERVIEW: The Legend of Lara Croft’s Showrunner Tasha Huo Reflects on the Vision for the Series
The Tomb Raider franchise is by far one of the most iconic and progressive series of its time, featuring Lara Croft — a butt-kicking international artifact hunter who has since maintained a spot on the TIMES ranking of the most influential video game characters of all time. Her fame and two-decades long legacy is so popular that it has snatched up numerous Guinness World Records and inspired two live-action films starring Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider (2001) and Alicia Vikander in Tomb Raider (2018). The franchise’s latest video game entries are part of the Survivor trilogy which feature a much younger Lara Croft in her early days of adventuring and discovering artifacts, but since then, no other game adaptation has been announced.
Continuing with its string of video game adaptations, Netflix and Powerhouse Animation unveiled the animated The Legend of Lara Croft’s teaser trailer in August 2024 as a sequel to the Survivor trilogy and to tie the canon material together. It centers around the titular heroine who has since abandoned her friends for perilous solo adventures after the events of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. But when a mysterious intruder breaks into the Croft Manor to steal a Chinese artifact, Lara is forced to not only apprehend the intruder, but to confront her fears and make the decision as to what kind of hero she wants to become.
© Netflix, 2024
Well ahead of the series’ release, Anime Trending had the opportunity to sit down with showrunner Tasha Huo to discuss the vision behind the animated series and the complexity of Lara’s character, and bond over the loveable character, Zip.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Where did the idea of making an animated sequel to the Survivor trilogy video games come from?
Tasha Huo: For me, it came from this place of wanting to explore just how Lara from the Survivor series — who was very serious, vulnerable, and ruled by anger and depression — reigned in the Mayan apocalypse and how did we get from that Lara to the Lara from the original games. It’s all about body language right? [Original Lara] is much more confident, witty, and smart mouthed. It’s such a big difference between the two, so it really piqued my curiosity on how that happened and how that came to be.
To follow up on that, what kind of character arc can we expect from her as a result of this transition? Is it going to be something abrupt, or something close to home for Lara?
Tasha Huo: Again, because I wanted to explore just how Lara goes from Survivor Lara to Classic Lara, I think we’re going to take as much time as Netflix will give to us. There’s a certain version of her you meet in the show and she’s already Classic Lara. But to me, that’s not really interesting. I’m curious about how she builds her networks out, how she builds out her relationships. What are the informative traumas, moments, or places that she visits that create the Lara we knew from those 90s games? We get to explore all of it again, for as long as Netflix will let us.
© Netflix, 2024
That’s awesome. Because you’ve mentioned people and places, what kind of locations and mythical elements can we expect from this kind of show? Considering that the past Survivor games have been focused on Yamatai — which is a Japanese inspired anime — then Rise of the Tomb Raider in the post-Soviet hinterlands, and now we have Shadow of the Tomb Raider with all of Latin America and South America from Cozumel to Peru and Chile?
Tasha Huo: You know, it’s hard because Lara has been everywhere and we’ve seen her everywhere, so it’s hard to tread new ground. Though, I hope we do. The show is very much like a travel show because inevitably, Lara hops around the entire world to solve the problem she’s chasing at this moment and to dive into whatever temple or ruin. It’s going to take her all over the world, which is really exciting [and fun] to me because we’re never in one spot for too long.
© Netflix, 2024
Another pressing question about the characters is that it’s been over 20-something years since Zip was featured in a Tomb Raider game. What inspired you to introduce Zip into this rendition of Lara Croft?
Tasha Huo: I’ve always loved Zip!
I also love him too! He’s really great!
Tasha Huo: He’s such a good juxtaposition to Lara who’s a bit more stony-faced. As soon as we got into writing [the character] with Allen Maldonado — who plays Zip — he just brings a really cool energy that’s just so fun to have against Lara. You always need your guy in the chair, right? So he also helps us access parts of Lara’s story that we wouldn’t have if we didn’t have Zip!
Last question! Out of all of the Lara Croft games, is there a particular favorite of yours in terms of game mechanics, storyline, or otherwise?
Tasha Huo: Oh my god, game mechanics… I sort of switch between Tomb Raider: Legend, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Tomb Raider (2013). I can’t pick between those three, I just love them!
© Netflix, 2024
Special thanks to Netflix for the interview opportunity. The Legend of Tomb Raider is now streaming on the service as of October 10, 2024
This interview was conducted by Agnes Nguyen. Interview questions were submitted by Agnes Nguyen and Melvyn Tan.
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