Following the smashing success of Prime Video's Fallout video game adaptation, Amazon Studios is doubling down on an upcoming Tomb Raider TV show. However, despite the success of the popular action-adventure video game franchise and its star-studded movie spin-offs, some fans have voiced their displeasure with the main creative force behind the new globetrotting adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been tapped to write and executive produce the upcoming Tomb Raider TV adaptation for Amazon Prime Video.

Waller-Bridge has proven to be a superb writer behind such acclaimed movies and TV shows as Killing Eve, No Time To Die, and others. Yet, due to Waller-Bridge's association with a recent action-adventure movie sequel that did not resonate well with fans, many have dismissed Tomb Raider before it even digs into production. While some of the worries may be misguided, here's why some fans are unhappy with the upcoming Tomb Raider TV show.

What Is Tomb Raider About?

Cut from the cloth of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider is a popular action-adventure video game that follows intuitive British archaeologist Lara Croft as she travels around the world looking for ancient artifacts and long-lost relics. Along the way, Lara must fend off violent mercenaries, corrupt treasure hunters and law enforcers, backstabbing museum curators, vicious animals in the wild, and more. The first six games were created by Core Design before Crystal Dynamics took over the property. Crystal Dynamics will co-produce the new TV show with Amazon.

In addition to 11 main Tomb Raider games, there have been several spin-offs and three movie adaptations thus far. The first two movies starred Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft and the most recent film starred Alicia Vikander in the title role. Both Oscar-winning actors give incredibly physical performances, putting slight pressure on Waller-Bridge and the other producers to cast the right person for the TV adaptation.

Who Is Phoebe Waller-Bridge?

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is a multi-hyphenate British talent who began her career as an actor in 2008 before becoming a writer, director, and producer. As a writer and showrunner, Waller-Bridge is best known for her award-winning series Fleabag, in which she also stars as the title character. Waller-Bridge has proven a deft ability to write compelling, action-packed storylines and convincing dialog in such acclaimed projects as Killing Eve and Daniel Craig's final James Bond film, No Time To Die. For Waller-Bridge, bringing Tomb Raider to the masses is a dream come true, she told IGN:

"If I could tell my teenage self this was happening I think she’d explode," Phoebe Waller-Bridge said. "Tomb Raider has been a huge part of my life and I feel incredibly privileged to be bringing it to television with such passionate collaborators. Lara Croft means a lot to me, as she does to many, and I can’t wait to go on this adventure. Bats ‘n all."

Waller-Bridges continues to explain how she played the game on PlayStation in her youth, adding:

"My parents were very smart because they didn't actually limit me. They could sense that I was going to just game myself into the ground, and I did. I packed the PlayStation away, and I was like, 'I've got to not do that because I've got to write and read and do other stuff.' "

Despite her genuine passion for adapting the popular video game, Waller-Bridge's recent starring turn in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has left some fans cold.

Why Are Fans Upset With Waller-Bridge's Involvement?

In 2023, Waller-Bridge gave arguably her most visible performance in James Mangold's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. In the film, Waller-Bridge plays Indy's calculating goddaughter Helena Shaw. The return of the iconic archaeological adventurer left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans who felt the movie was necessary at best, and downright terrible at worst. In addition to Waller-Bridge's performance, critics panned the film for lacking the exhilarating action the franchise is known for. The film also performed poorly at the box office, amounting to roughly $130 million in losses for Disney (as reported by Forbes).

Because Indiana Jones and Lara Croft are so similar — two worldly archaeologists who court danger — fans have voiced their fury over Waller-Bridge's involvement with Tomb Raider due to her starring role in The Dial of Destiny. However, this doesn't make much sense considering Waller-Bridge did not write or executive produce The Dial of Destiny as she would do for Tomb Raider. Nor does Waller-Bridge have plans to act in Tomb Raider as she did in The Dial of Destiny. Still, Some fans have voiced their displeasure on X (formerly Twitter), with one stating:

"A new Tomb Raider show has been given the green light ... ok, teĺl me more ... and will be written by Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, I'm out. After seeing what happened with Indy, not interested."

Indiana Jones 5 was written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, James Mangold, and David Koepp. Therefore, fans upset with The Dial of Destiny should direct their ire their way, not Waller-Bridge's. After all, Waller-Bridge has proven she can write thrilling action via No Time to Die and Killing Eve, an acclaimed movie and award-winning TV show bearing similar creative responsibilities as she will lead in Tomb Raider.

Fans Should Give the Tomb Raider TV Show a Chance

Despite the vocal outcry by some fans, those who enjoy Tomb Raider should give the upcoming adaptation a chance. Amazon recently delivered Fallout to critical acclaim, becoming one of the most successful video game TV adaptations ever created.

Between the studio's willingness to pour expensive resources into a live-action video game adaptation and the bold new direction of such game adaptations as The Last of Us, Tomb Raider could work better as a TV show than a movie. Long-form television accommodates the episodic nature of the Tomb Raider games, allowing Lara Croft to explore each level or geographic region more thoroughly.

Beyond the recent examples of excellent video game adaptations, fans should also give Tomb Raider a chance due to Waller-Bridge's affinity for the games. As Waller-Bridge puts it:

"There's room to do something really quite dangerous. And if I can do something dangerous and exciting with Tomb Raider, I already have an audience of people who love Lara and hopefully will continue to. And that is a very unusual position to be in. It's the old Trojan horse."

Stay tuned for an official release date for Amazon's upcoming Tomb Raider TV series.