My God. We need to talk about the "Direction" of Netflix’s "Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft"
The latest trailer for the upcoming Tomb Raider Netflix cartoon dropped on IGN, giving us a good look at Lara Croft’s character design. As someone genuinely interested in this adaptation, I eagerly clicked play.
What we all saw, and what I've discovered behind the scenes in the production room since, has left me speechless...
It wasn’t Lara Croft, the fierce and iconic archaeologist we all know and love, but rather something else entirely. It looked like a man with long hair. From the community's reactions, I wasn't the only one who felt this way.
"Larry Croft" is the first name that comes to mind when watching this 'new' animated portrayal of Lara Croft, and for good reason. The design choices are baffling from a sane human being perspective; she's now got broad shoulders, a flat chest, muscles everywhere... and an overall masculine look that strips away her classic femininity with the trademark 'generous' chest assets. She looks like a He. That's a dude with long hair... we just need to call him by his real name now - Larry.
It truly is another reminder that everything woke turns to sh*t.
The disappointing design of Lara Croft led me to do deeper digging, and of course I discover... there’s a very specific reason for this drastic change — the director, "Joey" Soloway. Soloway, formerly known as Jill, is an American television creator, writer, and director well-known for their work on the Amazon series Transparent, a show celebrated for its exploration of LGBTQ themes, and Six Feet Under, another well-acclaimed production. Soloway now decided to start identifying as non-binary and gender non-conforming and changed their name from Jill to Joey in 2020. Totally stable and definitely no agenda being shoved into this cartoon, though, of course.... Right?
After looking more into Soloway's history, it became clear why Lara Croft's design in the Netflix series feels so... off. I knew it had to be something, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this... Obvious and blatant.
Soloway’s approach has always been to break gender norms, and it seems that same philosophy has been applied here — turning Lara, the epitome of a strong, independent female character, into... Let's face it... a man. One of the aspects that made Lara Croft a beloved character was her combination of physical acrobatics, wit, and femininity, and this balance seems to have been discarded in favor of a "progressive" reimagining that turns her into a more... androgynous figure.
The response from the community has been overwhelmingly negative, and it’s easy to see why. Fans don’t appreciate when the core of a beloved character is altered, especially for the sake of adhering to current social agendas. Terms like "woke garbage" and "gross" are being echoed repeatedly on social media. One fan even called it "Uni-boob. Gross woke garbled cock trash," while another bluntly commented, "What did they do to her!?" The sentiment is clear — this isn't the Lara Croft that fans recognize or want.
The problem with this direction isn’t just that it changes how Lara looks, but that it also sends a message to long-time fans that their attachment to the character as she was is somehow wrong or outdated. When a character as iconic as Lara Croft is altered in such a way that she no longer represents the traits that made her iconic, it feels like a slap in the face to the fans who have supported the franchise for decades.
It doesn't stop with Joey/Jill either... turns out that Mariel Hester, now known as Ari H., was also involved in the production of the Tomb Raider Netflix series as a storyboard artist. Ari, who was originally listed as a she from posts from powerhouse studios, now identifies with he/him pronouns.
They previously worked on Castlevania as well, which... may explain some of the creative shifts that led to the downfall of that series. With a history of involvement in projects that have taken controversial directions, Ari's role in the Tomb Raider adaptation seems to align with the ongoing trend of pushing social agendas at the expense of the core elements that made these franchises beloved. Yay!!!
It's unfortunate because to be honest, I was genuinely interested in this adaptation. A Tomb Raider series that could expand on Lara's rich lore, her daring adventures, and her evolution as a character would have been exciting. Instead, nope... what we’ve received is yet another example of "woke" revisionism taking priority over quality storytelling and staying true to what made a character iconic in the first place.
I'm fine if you want to make your own crap to spew to the masses and fail on your own, but stay away from established beloved franchises!
Netflix’s Tomb Raider animated series had the potential to captivate both new audiences and long-time fans, but it seems the creative choices made by Joey Soloway have steered the series into a territory that alienates the very people who were excited to watch it - at least, from what we've seen thus far, and putting together pattern recognition. While representation and inclusivity in media are important, forcing those concepts by fundamentally changing an existing character — one beloved for being unapologetically herself — isn't the way to do it.. Nor will it ever be. It only serves to drive a wedge between creators and the audience.
So now we’re left with Larry Croft, a hollow shell of what Lara once was, directed by someone who clearly has an agenda that didn’t include staying true to the core of this legendary character. It seems that Netflix, once again, took a beloved franchise and "re-imagined" it into something that leaves us all wishing they had just left it alone. You hate to see it...
~Smash
Uh-huh. So this show was bad, but Nimona was good? Show's awesome btw. And Lara doesn't look masculine at all. She's slightly buff, why wouldn't she be?
What should happen with this game is it should be Re-done,which means strip the game of all the Woke crap and also re-do all the characters in the game i.e. Lara Croft and make sure the story is done Properly
Man this is so absolutely disapointing but it was gonna happen ever since the Tomb Raider 1,2,3 Remake where they said they are ashamed of her rainding tombs.
Big breasted athletic women now have noone to represent them.
This is so tragic! Why do they/them people insist on churning out garbage like this?