Inside Movies & DVD with Drew McWeeny

Will Megan Fox play Lara Croft for Paramount?

And more importantly, are there pants-optional theaters?

By Drew McWeeny Saturday, Jan 24, 2009 6:30 PM

Megan Fox

I'm not going to claim I'm fluent in Spanish, but this article appears to claim that Megan Fox has been cast to replace Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft in Paramount's "Tomb Raider" franchise.

Ummm... okay. That'll work.

What would really excite me is if they promised to not hire weak sauce directors and if they actually shot a really strong script. Sure, it's going to be lovely to see Fox wearing Croft's signature short shorts while doing acrobatics, but the sight of Jolie doing the same was not enough to make the first two films worthwhile. There's a chance to make really fun globe-trotting adventures using this character, and at one point, the producers for "Tomb Raider" even had a few script drafts that really worked. But Simon West destroyed that first movie and I couldn't even tell you who directed the second one. It made that little impression on me.

I'll follow up on this one next week with the producers to see if I can get a confirmation that they're even continuing the series. In the meantime, let's picture Fox in a wetsuit and enjoy the weekend, eh?

Related Searches: sequel, rumor, Megan Fox, Tomb Raider

YackBacker

Drew... funny stuff at the end of this article. I think Paramount's calculus going into this franchise is to ramp up the hype for an early box office take, probably throw this movie out for a late-summer release and pray it makes $50-75 million. If they were smart, like you said, get a story and director that fit the genre but challenge it as well (a la Stephen Norrington with BLADE). My hopes are not set too high for Paramount doing this... but Megan Fox will help me forget any gaps in the script, as she did for me with TRANSFORMERS.
January 24, 2009 at 11:54PM EST Reply to Comment
That Werewolf Guy

Lara Croft is a has-been. She is now everything else than the big phenomenon, that she was 10 years ago, so I think that a new Tom Raider movie is completely unnecessary. Okay, if they manage to make a good movie, I won't complain, because who doesn't love good movies? But they shouldn't expect to have a blockbuster on their hands, just because it's about a video game character that made 10 years ago millions of teenage boys hot.
January 25, 2009 at 7:07AM EST Reply to Comment
Fletcher Hanks

Laura Croft is not a real person, so I don't think "she" qualifies as a has-been. LOL! Good one, though. They made two lame movies, so it's not like the property is overexposed. The video games are still popular, even as retro entertainment. The actress is cute and the premise is sound for an action film. They just need, as Drew points out, the correct creative team.
January 25, 2009 at 9:05AM EST Reply to Comment
Mrs. Yacomfloster

If anyone can help ressurect that franchise, it's that slut-on-wheels Megan Fox. Va-va-voom, she's quite a hot ticket that one. Agree with Drew, hopefully they can hand her a somewhat decent script, the first two were atrocious.
January 25, 2009 at 10:03AM EST Reply to Comment
Rob1855

The first one did $274m.
The second one did $156m.

If you've got the rights, why WOULDN'T you make another one.

It's a cash cow for the studio, and it's not like anyone's expecting HAMLET.
January 25, 2009 at 12:15PM EST Reply to Comment