The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that The Wire actor Dominic West has joined the cast of 2018’s Tomb Raider reboot in the important role of Lara Croft’s father, Richard.
The reboot’s plot centers around Lara, played by Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander, as she searches for answers to her father’s unfinished archaeological research in order to clear his name; her adventure quickly turns into a fight for survival when she comes across a savage island cult.
In 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Richard was played by Jon Voight, real-life father of lead actress Angelina Jolie.
Richard has a fairly large presence in most of the video games on which the film is based, primarily 2013’s Tomb Raider and 2015’s Rise of the Tomb Raider. While portrayed as being a slightly neglectful man looking to unlock many of the world’s hidden secrets, he’s also incredibly passionate and serves as Lara’s greatest inspiration.
West seems to be the perfect choice to slip into the character’s shoes. Since his five seasons on HBO’s The Wire, which has been hailed as perhaps the greatest show of all time, West has managed to find critical acclaim in other projects as well, between BBC’s The Hour, Showtime’s The Affair and last year’s Money Monster.
Roar Uthaug will helm the adventure film and has lined up a cast that also includes Walton Goggins (Justified) and Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands). Warner Bros. is planning to release the film, which will begin production very soon, on March 16th, 2018.
Originally published January 27, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
