Legacy of Atlantis star reveals her ‘unapologetic’ take on Lara Croft

For those who grew up playing Tomb Raider when it first debuted in 1996, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is going to be a blast from the past. Not only is it a remake of the very first game, but it features an old-school take on Lara Croft dressed in her most iconic outfit: a blue tank top, khaki shorts, and big boots. It’s a look we haven’t seen in a while, considering that the last trilogy of games featured a grittier take on the famed explorer.

For the team behind Legacy of Atlantis, it’s more than a costume. It represents an iteration of Lara that Crystal Dynamics is rediscovering with Legacy of Atlantis. Polygon recently sat down with several creatives working on the project to discuss what went into making a new-old version of Lara. For the team, it’s about reclaiming the character’s confidence, while keeping her look practical.

That goal was especially important to Alex Wilton Regan, who plays Lara Croft in the remake. The actress, known for video game roles like The Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition, had been orbiting around Lara Croft for a long time. She still remembers an article in PlayStation Magazine that said she should get a crack at the character. Even without that, Regan would have plenty of pressure to contend with when stepping into Lara’s boots.

“If you are British, you are very aware of Tomb Raider,” Regan told Polygon. “Lara Croft has been a British icon since 1996. She’s been on quite literally thousands of magazine covers the world over, but in particular in the UK because she was such a hit, she was flying the flag for Great Britain.”

Regan came onto the project in 2023, after eight months of auditions for the role. She immediately requested to talk with the developers at Crystal Dynamics to get a handle on their vision for Lara in the remake. The idea was to return to the hyper-cool version of her from the original games, a change of pace from the version in Crystal Dynamics’ reboot trilogy who is struggling to survive.

“The word I’ve been using for Lara is unapologetic,” Regan said. “We’re in classic Lara territory. She is charismatic. She is cool as fuck. She is physically strong, she is mentally strong. She has lived a lot, but she is also very sure of herself. That’s an incredibly attractive thing to perform as a woman. In culture, we’re very used to seeing men being self-possessed, because we live in a patriarchy. We’re used to seeing portrayals of confident male characters on-screen and in our video games, but this is a very confident woman, and I find that incredibly inspiring.”

Image: Crystal Dynamics/Flying Wild Hog, Amazon Game Studios

Regan was especially down to play that version of the character, because she’s a bit of a fighter herself. She told me that she used to frequent a boxing gym in London, where she had a bit of a reputation for being fiery. It earned her the nickname Venom. While Regan doesn’t perform Lara’s most physical stunts in Legacy of Atlantis, she was able to throw down in the motion-capture room, thanks to some gun and wrestling training. “I have some serious fire in my belly,” she said.

Part of returning to that kind of Lara meant going back to the ‘90s outfit that made her an icon. That would be a tricky balancing act for the team at Crystal Dynamics. While beloved, Lara’s old look wasn’t always tasteful in the era. Exaggerated body proportions and her tight tank top turned her into every teenage boy’s fantasy. Though the gaming world still hasn’t entirely moved past that — and arguably has even regressed in recent years — experience director Jeff Adams wanted to make sure that its redesign was tasteful and grounded.

“We wanted to make sure that it felt like it was a believable, real outfit. That it’s real gear that’s up to the task,” Adams told Polygon. “Then we have the luxury of having Kam Yu, the franchise character modeler who has worked on every Lara since Legend. We get that baked-in experience with that character, but it never is a thing that holds us back from being able to say how are we going to make her look as believable — living and breathing on-screen — as possible?”

While the redesign has sparked some mixed feelings around social media water coolers, the redesign has one big defender: Alex Wilton Regan herself.

“Alex Wilton Regan has never looked hotter or more gorgeous in my entire life than how my performance capture has turned out,” Regan said. “I think she’s beautiful, but I also think it captures the essence of her. Lara just happens to be gorgeous and sassy. She’s strong because she’s an adventurer. She’s slim because she’s running around the whole time. She’s a Lara Croft for the ages.”

Though Legacy of Atlantis is a remake, the team talks about this version of Lara as the start of a new era for the character. You can feel that when looking towards Amazon’s upcoming Tomb Raider TV show. The series stars Sophie Turner as Lara Croft, and she too will don the same blue tank top and shorts that Regan’s version of the character wears. Regan and Turner have yet to trade acting notes about the character, but they have nerded out together over their shared role.

“I was actually cast before Sophie, but Sophie was announced before I was,” Regan said. “Sophie and I know each other. I was congratulating her, going ‘This is just amazing!’ And my brain is going, ‘I want to tell you, but I can’t break my NDA!’ As soon as I was announced at the Game Awards, I messaged Sophie and she just goes “ALEX. MY MIND IS BLOWN. THIS IS INCREDIBLE.’ At some point, when both of our schedules have quieted down, we said that we’re going to go for coffee together.”

Image: Crystal Dynamics/Flying Wild Hog, Amazon Game Studios

Though the two actresses represent a new generation of Lara Croft, Regan was thinking about the past when researching her. She played the original game’s 2024 remaster, studied the reboot series’ cutscenes, and even dove into the Tomb Raider animated series. Her biggest source of inspiration when building the character, though, came from the silver screen.

“My job as the current Lara Croft is to unify the spirit of all previous Laras that have come before,” Regan said. “I am personally inspired by Angelina Jolie’s portrayal, simply because I think she very much inhabits the core of classic Lara. I think that’s exactly where the franchise is headed.”

Both Crystal Dynamics and Regan are optimistic about that future. Regan in particular feels the pressure as she is now, as she put it, carrying the torch for the UK. (“I have no cool and no chill,” she said.) Those high stakes are worth it for her, though, if just for the chance to reintroduce the world to an ultra-confident woman that everyone can look up to.

“There’s a little bit of Lara Croft magic that, if we do our job right, will rub off on everyone,” she said.